Noli Me Tangere
by LostInEnchancia
Summary: "I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland.." Noli me tangere (Latin for Touch Me Not) is a novel written by José Rizal, considered as one of the national heroes of the Philippines, during the colonization of the country by Spain to expose the inequities of the Spanish Catholic priests and the ruling government.
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Hi! So I posted this for those guys who are looking for an ebook of Noli Me Tangere. I don't know how I got this but I decided to share it with you guys anyway ^^

This Isn't Mine, I got this at Project Gutenberg. Anyway, this is an English version and Also an INCOMPLETE one. Sooo I wouldn't recommend using this in your classes. Still stick to the textbooks for your Filipino Class but you can use this, I guess. But i left you a warning na.

In This chapter you'll find the credits and Jose Rizal's life. But **you may skip this chapter to go forth with the story**

* * *

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Friars and Filipinos, by Jose Rizal This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

almost no restrictions whatsoever. Y**ou may copy it, give it away or**

**re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included**

**with this eBook or online at .net**

Title: Friars and Filipinos

An Abridged Translation of Dr. Jose Rizal's Tagalog Novel,

'Noli Me Tangere.'

Author: Jose Rizal

Translator: Frank Ernest Gannett

Release Date: October 17, 2009 [EBook #30278]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRIARS AND FILIPINOS ***

Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at .net (This file was

produced from images generously made available by The

Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Friars and Filipinos

An abridged translation of

Dr. Jose Rizal's

Tagalog Novel, "Noli Me Tangere."

By

Frank Ernest Gannett.

New York:

The St. James Press.

Copyright, 1900,

by

Frank Ernest Gannett.

To

Jacob Gould Schurman,

President of Cornell University.

PREFACE.

While serving on the staff of the first United States Commission to the

Philippine Islands my attention was called to the life and writings

of Dr. Jose Rizal. I found in his novel, "Noli Me Tangere," the best

picture of the life of the people of those islands under Spanish rule,

and the clearest exposition of the governmental problems which Spain

failed to solve, and with which our own people must deal. It occurred

to me that an English translation of Rizal's work would be of great

value at the present time. My first intention was to reproduce the

entire novel as it was written, but, after careful consideration,

I thought best to abridge the story by the omission of some parts

which did not seem essential to the main purpose of the work. The

present volume is the result.

Readers should not understand any of Rizal's references to priests

and friars as reflections upon the Roman Catholic Church. He was

throughout his life an ardent Catholic, and died a firm adherent

of the Church. But he objected to the religious orders in the

Philippine Islands, because he knew well that they were more zealous

in furthering their own selfish ends than in seeking the advancement

of Christianity. From experience, Dr. Rizal knew that the friars,

under cloak of the gospel ministry, oppressed his fellow countrymen,

and took advantage of their superstition and ignorance. These wrongs

he was brave enough to expose in his writings. In the friars he saw an

obstacle to the education and enlightenment of the Filipino people,

and, using moderate means, he did his utmost to secure reform. His

writings will explain to us the cause of the hatred shown by the

Filipinos toward the religious corporations, and will make clearer

the nature of one of the present problems in the Philippines.

There are in the Philippines five religious orders: the Dominicans,

Franciscans, Recoletos, Augustines and Jesuits. According to John

Foreman, an eminent authority, the members of all of these, except

the last named, come from the lower classes in Spain, and are on

the whole comparatively ignorant and uncultured. Under the Spanish

system of government certain provinces were assigned to each of the

orders-except the Jesuits-and the friars were distributed among

the different parishes. In the town assigned to him the friar had

much authority. He was chief adviser in all civil affairs, and, by

his influence over the superstitious natives, maintained absolute

control in all matters pertaining to the local government as well

as to the local church. So firm was his hold that he led the Spanish

government to believe that the islands could not be ruled without his

aid. Knowing that his power rested on the ignorance of the people he

discouraged education among them. When native Filipinos advanced so

far as to prove an obstacle to the religious orders, as did Rizal and

many others, the friars sought to destroy them. Forgetting their holy

mission, the religious orders became commercial corporations, amassed

enormous wealth, and gained possession of the most valuable parts of

the islands, though to much of this property the titles are not clear.

From my own observation, and from information derived from the

Spaniards themselves, I am convinced that the author has not

overdrawn his pictures. In fact I have learned of instances where

the oppression and practices of the friars were even worse than those

described. Dr. Rizal has given us a portrayal of the Filipino character

from the viewpoint of the most advanced Filipino. He brings out many

facts that are pertinent to present-day questions, showing especially

the Malayan ideas of vengeance, which will put great difficulties

in the way of the pacifying of the islands by our forces. The reader

will not fail to notice the striking similarity between the life of

Ibarra, the hero, and that of Rizal, the author, a short sketch of

whose career has been given in the following pages.

For assistance in preparing this volume for publication I offer

sincere thanks to William H. Glasson, Ph.D., Instructor in History

in the George School, Newtown, Pa. Dr. Glasson has read the entire

manuscript and proofs, and I have been glad to avail myself of his

advice on many doubtful points. I desire also to acknowledge my

indebtedness for favors received to Horatio Green, Interpreter to

the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands, to W. G. Richardson,

of New York, and to the publishers.

F. E. G.

Ithaca, N. Y., Dec. 1, 1900.

* * *

JOSE RIZAL.

Dr. Jose Rizal, of whose "Noli Me Tangere," the following story, is

an abridgement, is the most striking character to be found in the

history of the Philippine Islands. He was not only a great martyr

to the cause of liberty, and to the advancement of his fellow men,

but he was without doubt the greatest Filipino ever born, and his

memory is cherished to-day by his people as we ourselves cherish the

memory of Washington.

Rizal was born on June 19th, 1861, in the pueblo of Calamba, in the

province of Laguna, on the Island of Luzon. He came of a Tagalog

family, which, it is said, acknowledged a slight mixture of Chinese

blood, and possessed considerable property. As a child he gave evidence

of extraordinary precocity. He is said to have written poetry in his

native tongue at eight years of age, produced a successful melodrama

at fourteen, and later to have won prizes in literary contests with

writers of recognized ability.

After passing through the University of Manila, and receiving much

instruction at the hands of the Jesuit fathers, he was sent to Europe

to complete his education. He pursued courses of study in Spanish

and German universities, and won the degrees of Doctor of Medicine

and Doctor of Philosophy. Besides acquiring a knowledge of seven

languages he gained a brilliant reputation for proficiency in the

branch of optical surgery. For a time he was the leading assistant

in the office of a world-renowned specialist at Vienna.

While in Europe Rizal wrote several books and also gave considerable

time to sculpture and painting. His artistic ability was great,

and some of his productions are now treasured by friends into whose

possession they came. Rizal's best known work is his "Noli Me Tangere,"

written in Belgium about 1886 or 1887. This novel, with its vivid

picture of life in the Philippines, and its exposure of Spanish

misrule and oppression, won for him the bitter hatred of the friars,

and inspired the relentless persecution which only ended with the

taking of his life.

In 1889 Dr. Rizal returned to the Philippines, but was soon compelled

to leave his native land in order to escape forcible banishment. After

a short residence in Japan, he went to London, where he published

a work on the History of the Philippine Islands. About the same

time a sequel to "Noli Me Tangere," entitled "El Filibusterismo,"

was published. The hatred of the priests against him was further

inflamed by this production, and the government in Manila was forced

by the friars to forbid the circulation of any of his writings. Copies

of his novels were burned in the public squares, and it was worth

one's life to be found possessing a copy. Until very recently it has

been almost impossible to obtain a copy of Rizal's works, and it was

necessary to go to Europe to secure the one from which the following

abridged translation was made.

In 1892 Dr. Rizal was so overcome with a desire to see again his

beautiful fatherland that he ventured, in the face of all the dangers

that threatened him, to return to Manila. He had scarcely set foot

on shore, however, before he was arrested and thrown in prison. The

friars demanded his execution on the ground that he carried incendiary

leaflets for the purpose of stirring up a rebellion, but subsequent

inquiries showed that such leaflets had been introduced into his

baggage at the custom house through the intrigues of the Augustine

friars. Despite his indignant protestations of innocence; Rizal was

summarily condemned by the Spanish General, Despujols, to banishment

at Dapitan in the island of Mindanao. Although the trickery of the

friars became known to him, Despujols lacked courage to revoke his

order of banishment, for fear that he, too, would incur the hatred

of the powerful religious corporations.

After four years of exile Rizal saw plainly that the hostility of

the friars would make it impossible for him to live in his native

land. In 1896 a plague of yellow fever broke out in the island

of Cuba and Rizal volunteered to lend his medical services to the

Spanish government. Ramon Blanco, then general-in-chief of the Spanish

forces in the Philippines, accepted the generous offer and recalled

the young man to Manila that he might sail at once for Cuba. Alarmed

by demonstrations of popular affection for Rizal, who represented the

aspirations of the Filipino people, the Spanish authorities broke faith

with him and imprisoned him in the Fuerza de Santiago. He was arraigned

on false charges, given a military trial, and at the dictation of

the religious orders was sentenced to be shot as a traitor.

At dawn on December 30th, 1896, he was led to the place of execution

on the beautiful Luneta, overlooking the tranquil surface of Manila

Bay. Notices of the event had been published throughout the islands

and the day on which it was to occur was proclaimed a fiesta. Thousands

gathered around the place selected, and so evident was the sympathy of

the helpless Filipinos for the man who was to die for their sake that

Spain marshalled ten regiments of her soldiers about the spot. The

populace must be intimidated. A nation's hero was about to become a

nation's martyr. With face uplifted he glanced at the multitude about

him and smiled. They tied his arms behind him and made him face the

waters of the bay. In vain he protested and begged that he might die

facing his executioners. A squad of his fellow countrymen, who were

serving in Spain's army, were selected for the bloody work. They drew

in position to shoot him in the back. The order was given to fire,

but only one had the courage to obey. The bullet went straight and the

hero fell, but another shot was necessary to despatch his life. His

newly wedded wife remained with him to the end. The best hope of the

Filipino people was crushed; a light in a dark place was snuffed out.

Rizal was no extremist, no believer in harsh and bloody methods, no

revolutionist. He aimed to secure moderate and reasonable reforms, to

lessen the oppressive exactions of the friars, to examine into titles

of their land, and to make possible the education and uplifting of

his people. He loved Spain as he did his own country, and repeatedly

used his influence against the rebellious measures proposed by other

Filipino leaders. His execution was only one of the numerous outrages

which characterized Spain's reign in the Philippines.

In closing this short sketch of Rizal's life we can do no better

than to quote the estimate of him made by Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt,

professor in the University of Leitmeritz, Austria, who prepared a

biographical sketch of Rizal. Dr. Blumentritt said:

"Not only is Rizal the most prominent man of his own people, but the

greatest man the Malayan race has produced. His memory will never

perish in his fatherland, and future generations of Spaniards will

yet learn to utter his name with respect and reverence."


	2. 01

CHAPTER I.

DON SANTIAGO'S DINNER.

In the latter part of October, Don Santiago de los Santos, popularly

known as Captain Tiago, gave a dinner. Though, contrary to his custom,

he had not announced it until the afternoon of the day on which it was

to occur, the dinner became at once the absorbing topic of conversation

in Binondo, in the other suburbs of Manila, and even in the walled

city. Captain Tiago was generally considered a most liberal man,

and his house, like his country, shut its doors to no one, whether

bent on pleasure or on the development of some new and daring scheme.

The dinner was given in the captain's house in Analoague street. The

building is of ordinary size, of the style of architecture common

to the country, and is situated on that arm of the Pasig called by

some Binondo Creek. This, like all the streams in Manila, satisfies a

multitude of needs. It serves for bathing, mortar-mixing, laundering,

fishing, means of transportation and communication, and even for

drinking water, when the Chinese water-carriers find it convenient

to use it for that purpose. Although the most important artery of

the busiest part of the town, where the roar of commerce is loudest

and traffic most congested, the stream is, for a distance of a mile,

crossed by only one wooden bridge. During six months of the year, one

end of this bridge is out of order, and the other end is impassable

during the remaining time.

The house is low and somewhat out of plumb. No one, however, knows

whether the faulty lines of the building are due to a defect in the

sight of the architect who constructed it, or whether they are the

result of earthquakes and hurricanes.

A wide staircase, with green balustrades and carpeted here and there in

spots, leads from the zaguan, or tiled entrance hall, to the second

story of the house. On either side of this staircase is a row of

flower-pots and vases, placed upon chinaware pedestals, brilliant in

coloring and fantastic in design. Upstairs, we enter a spacious hall,

which is, in these islands, called caida. This serves to-night for

the dining hall. In the middle of the room is a large table, profusely

and richly ornamented, fairly groaning under the weight of delicacies.

In direct contrast to these worldly preparations are the motley colored

religious pictures on the walls-such subjects as "Purgatory," "Hell,"

"The Last Judgment," "The Death of the Just," and "The Death of the

Sinner." Below these, in a beautiful renaissance frame, is a large,

curious linen engraving of two old ladies. The picture bears the

inscription "Our Lady of Peace, Propitious to Travellers, Venerated

in Antipolo, Visiting in the Guise of a Beggar the Pious Wife of the

Famous Captain Ines in Her Sickness." In the side of the room toward

the river, Captain Tiago has arranged fantastic wooden arches, half

Chinese, half European, through which one can pass to the roof which

covers part of the first story. This roof serves as a veranda, and

has been illuminated with Chinese lanterns in many colors and made

into a pretty little arbor or garden. The sala or principal room of

the house, where the guests assembled is resplendent with colossal

mirrors and brilliant chandeliers, and, upon a platform of pine,

is a costly piano of the finest workmanship.

People almost filled this room, the men keeping on one side and the

women on the other, as though they were in a Catholic church or a

synagogue. Among the women were a number of young girls, both native

and Spanish. Occasionally one of them forgot herself and yawned,

but immediately sought to conceal it by covering her mouth with her

fan. Conversation was carried on in a low voice and died away in

vague mono-syllables, like the indistinct noises heard by night in

a large mansion.

An elderly woman with a kindly face, a cousin of Captain Tiago,

received the ladies. She spoke Spanish regardless of all the

grammatical rules, and her courtesies consisted in offering to the

Spanish ladies cigarettes and betel nut (neither of which they use)

and in kissing the hands of the native women after the manner of

the friars. Finally the poor old lady was completely exhausted,

and, taking advantage of a distant crash occasioned by the breaking

of a plate, hurried off precipitately to investigate, murmuring:

"Jesus! Just wait, you good-for-nothings!"

Among the men there was somewhat more animation. In one corner of

the room were some cadets, who chatted with some show of interest,

but in a low voice. From time to time they surveyed the crowd and

indicated to each other different persons, meanwhile laughing more

or less affectedly.

The only people who appeared to be really enjoying themselves were

two friars, two citizens and an officer of the army who formed a

group around a small table, on which were bottles of wine and English

biscuits. The officer was old, tall and sunburnt, and looked as the

Duke of Alva might have looked, had he been reduced to a command in

the civil guard. He said little, but what he did say was short and

to the point. One of the friars was a young Dominican, handsome and

dressed with extreme nicety. He wore gold mounted spectacles and

preserved the extreme gravity of youth. The other friar, however,

who was a Franciscan, talked a great deal and gesticulated even

more. Although his hair was getting gray, he seemed to be well

preserved and in robust health. His splendid figure, keen glance,

square jaw and herculean form gave him the appearance of a Roman

patrician in disguise. He was gay and talked briskly, like one who

is not afraid to speak out. Brusque though his words might be, his

merry laugh removed any disagreeable impression.

As to the citizens, one of them was small in stature and wore a black

beard, his most noticeable feature being his large nose-so large

that you could scarcely believe that it was all his own. The other

was a young blonde, apparently a recent arrival in the country. The

latter was carrying on a lively discussion with the Franciscan.

"You will see," said the friar, "when you have been in the country

a few months, and will be convinced that what I say is right. It is

one thing to govern in Madrid and another to rule in the Philippines."

"But-"

"I, for example," continued Father Damaso, raising his voice to prevent

the other from speaking, "I, who can point to my twenty-three years

of existence on bananas and rice, can speak with some authority on

this subject. Do not come to me with theories or arguments, for I

know the native. Remember, that when I came to this country, I was

sent to a parish, small and largely devoted to agriculture. I did not

understand Tagalog very well, but I received the confessions of the

women and we managed to understand each other. In fact, they came

to think so much of me that three years afterward, when I was sent

to another and larger town, where a vacancy had been created by the

death of the native parish priest, all the women were in tears. They

overwhelmed me with presents, they saw me off with bands of music-"

"But this only shows-"

"Wait, wait! Do not be in a hurry! My successor remained there a still

shorter time, but when he left there were more people to see him off,

more tears shed, and more music played, although he had treated the

people worse than I, and had raised the parish dues to a sum almost

double the amount I had exacted."

"But allow me-"

"Furthermore, I was twenty years in the town of San Diego and it was

only a few months ago-that-that I left. Twenty years! Surely any

one will admit that twenty years is time enough to get acquainted

with a town. There were six thousand people in San Diego, and I knew

every one of them as if he were my own child. I knew even the private

affairs of them all; I knew in what way this man was 'crooked,'

where the shoe pinched that one, what slips every girl had made and

with whom, and who was the true father of each child, for I received

all of their confessions and they always confessed scrupulously. I

can prove what I say by Santiago, our host, for he has considerable

property in that town, and it was there that we became friends. Well,

then! This will show you what sort of people the natives are: when I

went away, only a few old women and some lay brothers saw me off. And

that, after I had been there twenty years! Don't you see that this

proves beyond a doubt that all the reforms attempted by the Ministers

of the Government in Madrid are perfectly absurd?"

It was now the young man's turn to be perplexed. The lieutenant, who

had been listening to the argument, knit his brows. The little man

with the black beard made ready to combat or support Father Damaso's

arguments, while the Dominican was content to remain entirely neutral.

"But do you believe-," the young man finally asked in a curious

mood, and looking straight at the friar.

"Do I believe it? As I do the Gospel! The native is so indolent!"

"Ah! Pardon me for interrupting you," said the young blonde, lowering

his voice and drawing his chair closer, "but you have spoken a word

that arouses my interest. Is this indolence an inherent characteristic

of the native, or is it true, as a foreign traveller has said in

speaking of a country whose inhabitants are of the same race as these,

that this indolence is only a fabrication to excuse our own laziness,

our backwardness and the faults of our celestial system?"

"Bah! That is nothing but envy! Ask Senor Laruja, who knows this

country very well, whether the native has his equal in the world for

indolence and ignorance."

"It is a fact," replied the little man referred to, "that

nowhere in the world can any one be found more indolent than the

native. Positively nowhere!"

"Nor more vicious and ungrateful!"

"Nor with less education!"

Somewhat uneasy, the blonde man began to glance about the

room. "Gentlemen," he said in a low voice, "I believe that we are in

the house of a native, and these young ladies may-"

"Bah! Don't be so sensitive. How long have you been in the country?"

"Four days," answered the young man somewhat ruffled.

"Did you come here as an employee?"

"No, sir. I came on my own account in order to become acquainted with

the country."

"Man, what a rare bird you are!" exclaimed Father Damaso, looking

at him with curiosity. "To come here on your own account for such

foolish ends! What a phenomenon! And when so many books have been

written about this country-"

Then, striking the arm of his chair with sudden violence, he exclaimed:

"The country is being lost; it is lost already. The governing power

supports heretics against the ministers of God."

"What do you mean?" again asked the lieutenant, half rising from

his chair.

"What do I mean?" repeated Father Damaso, again raising his voice,

and facing the lieutenant. "I mean what I say. I mean that, when a

priest turns away the corpse of a heretic from his cemetery, no one,

not even the King himself, has the right to interfere, and still less

to punish. And yet a general, a miserable little general-"

"Father! His Excellency is the vice-regal representative of His

Majesty the King!" exclaimed the officer, rising to his feet.

"What do I care for His Excellency, or for any of your vice-regal

representatives!" answered the Franciscan, rising in his turn. "In

any other time than the present, he would have been thrown down

stairs in the same way as the religious corporations treated the

sacrilegious governor Bustamente in his time. Those were the days

when there was faith!"

"I'll tell you right here that I don't allow any-His Excellency

represents His Majesty the King!"

"I don't care whether he is king or rogue. For us there is no king

other than the true-"

"Stop this immediately!" shouted the lieutenant in a threatening

manner, and as though he were commanding his own soldiers. "Take back

what you have said, or to-morrow I shall inform His Excellency."

"Go and tell him at once! Go tell him!" answered Father Damaso,

sarcastically, at the same time approaching the lieutenant with his

fists doubled. "Don't you think for a moment that, because I wear

the dress of a monk, I'm not a man. Hurry! Go tell him! I'll lend

you my carriage."

The discussion began to grow ridiculous as the speakers became more

heated, but, at this point, fortunately, the Dominican interfered.

"Gentlemen!" he said in a tone of authority, and with that nasal

twang which is so characteristic of the friars, "there is no reason

why you should thus confuse matters or take offense where it is not

intended. We should distinguish between what Father Damaso says as

a man, and what he says as a priest. Whatever he may say as a priest

cannot be offensive, for the words of a priest are understood to be

absolutely true."

"But I understand what his motives are, Father Sibyla!" interrupted

the lieutenant, who saw that he would be drawn into a net of such

fine distinction that, if he allowed it to go on, Father Damaso

would get off scot free. "I know very well what his motives are,

and Your Reverence will also perceive them. During the absence of

Father Damaso from San Diego, his assistant buried the body of a very

worthy person. Yes, sir, an extremely worthy person! I had known

the man from time to time and had often been his guest. What if he

never had been to confession? I do not confess, either. To say that

he committed suicide is a lie, a slander. A man such as he, with

a son whose success and love were more than all the world to him;

a man who believed in God, who fulfilled his duty to society, who

was honorable and just-such a man does not commit suicide. That is

what I say! I am not telling you all that I think about this matter,

and Your Reverence should be very thankful that I restrain myself."

Turning his back on the Franciscan, he continued: "As I was saying,

this priest, when he returned to the town, after maltreating his

coadjutor, ordered that the man's body be taken up and thrown out of

the cemetery, to be buried I know not where. The town of San Diego

was too cowardly to protest, though, in fact, very few people knew

much about the matter. The dead man had no relatives in the town and

his only son was in Europe. His Excellency, however, learned about

the affair, and being at heart upright and just, he ordered that the

priest be punished. As a result, Father Damaso was transferred to

another but better town. That is all there was to it. Now you can

make all the distinctions you like."

So saying, he left the group.

"I am very sorry to have touched upon so delicate a subject," said

Father Sibyla, "but, after all, if the change from one town to another

was to your advantage-"

"How could it be to my advantage? How about all the things that I

lost?" interrupted Father Damaso, fairly boiling over with rage.

"Good evening, gentlemen! Good evening, Father!" said Captain Santiago,

who at that instant entered the room, leading a youth by the hand. On

saluting his guests in this manner, he kissed the hands of the priests,

who, by the way, forgot to give him their blessing. The Dominican took

off his gold-rimmed spectacles in order to examine the new arrival

at better advantage, while Father Damaso, turning pale at the sight,

stared at the youth with eyes wide open.

"I have the honor of presenting to you Don Crisostomo Ibarra, the

son of my deceased friend," said Captain Tiago. "The young man has

just arrived from Europe, and I have been to meet him." At the mere

mention of the name, exclamations were heard in all parts of the

room. The lieutenant, forgetting himself entirely, did not stop to

salute his host, but at once approached the young man and surveyed

him from head to foot. The youth exchanged the usual greetings with

those who had gathered around him. He showed no striking peculiarity,

except in his sombre dress, which was in deep contrast with that of

the other persons present. His athletic build, his appearance, and

every movement he made showed, however, that a fine mind and a healthy

body had both been highly developed. You could see from his frank and

vivacious face that he had Spanish blood in his veins. Although his

hair, eyes and complexion were dark, his cheeks had a slight color,

due, no doubt, to residence in cold countries.

"What!" he exclaimed with glad surprise, "the parish priest of my

own town! Father Damaso, my father's intimate friend!" Every one in

the room looked at the Franciscan, but the latter made no motion.

"You must excuse me, if I have made a mistake," added Ibarra, somewhat

in doubt because of the apathy of the friar.

"You have made no mistake," the priest finally answered in a strained

voice, "but your father was never an intimate friend of mine."

Ibarra slowly withdrew the hand which he had offered, looking at the

friar with great surprise. As he turned about, he came face to face

with the lieutenant just approaching.

"My boy, are you the son of Don Rafael Ibarra?"

The young man bowed in acquiescence. Father Damaso settled back into

his arm-chair and fixed his eyes upon the lieutenant.

"Welcome to your country! May you be more happy in it than was your

father!" exclaimed the officer in a trembling voice. "I had many

dealings with your father and I knew him well, and I can say that he

was one of the most worthy and honorable men in the Philippines."

"Sir," replied Ibarra with emotion, "your praise of my father puts

me in doubt as to his fate. Even now I, his own son, am ignorant of

it all."

The eyes of the old man filled with tears. He turned and hurriedly

withdrew. Ibarra found himself standing alone in the middle of the

room. His host had disappeared, and he turned to a group of gentlemen,

who, as soon as they saw him coming, formed a semicircle to receive

him.

"Gentlemen," he said, "in Germany, when a stranger attends any

social function and there is no one present to introduce him, it is

allowable for him to introduce himself. Permit me to avail myself

of this practice. Gentlemen, my name is Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y

Magsalin." The others gave their names in turn, of which the most

were comparatively unknown.

"My name is A-a," said one of the young men, bowing stiffly.

"Then, perhaps, I have the honor of addressing the poet whose works

have kept up my enthusiasm for my country? I have been told that you

have stopped writing, but no one has told me why."

"Why? Because there is no use in invoking the muses for false and

foolish ends. A case has been made out against one man for having put

into verse a true story of Pero Grullo. I am not going to get myself

into a similar scrape. They may call me a poet, but they shall not

call me a fool."

"And can you not tell us what that true story was?"

"Yes. The poet said that the son of a lion is also a lion, and for

saying this he narrowly escaped being banished."

"Dinner is ready," announced a waiter who had been borrowed from the

Cafe Campana. The guests began to file into the dining room, not,

however, without many sighs, and even some prayers among the women,

especially the natives, that the dreaded affair would soon be over.


	3. 02

CHAPTER II

AT THE DINNER TABLE.

Father Sibyla wore a satisfied air. He moved along tranquilly, and

his closed, thin lips showed no signs of disdain. On the other hand,

the Franciscan was in a very bad humor. As he walked toward the table,

he kicked over the chairs which happened to be in his way and boxed the

ears of one of the cadets. The lieutenant was very solemn and grave.

The two friars instinctively started for the head of the table,

perhaps by force of habit, and, as might have been expected, they met

on opposite sides of the same chair. Then, with ponderous courtesy,

each entreated the other to sit down, giving in turn his reasons why

the other should take precedence. Every one at the table understood

how both really felt in the matter, and all knew well that the one

who did not take the coveted seat would grumble discontentedly for

the remainder of the evening. The farce proceeded something like this:

"You take it, Brother Damaso! It is for you!"

"No, you take it, Brother Sibyla!"

"You are an old friend of the family, the confessor of its deepest

mysteries; your age, your dignity, your-"

"No, that is all right as far as age goes, but, on the other hand

you are the priest of this suburb," answered Father Damaso in an

insincere tone, without, however, leaving the chair.

"As you order it, I obey," concluded Father Sibyla, making ready to

sit down.

"But I do not order it," protested the Franciscan, "I do not order it."

Father Sibyla was about to take the seat without any further regard to

the protests of his brother, when his eyes chanced to meet those of the

lieutenant. According to the religious customs in the Philippines, the

highest military officer is inferior to even a convent cook. "Cedent

arma togae," said Cicero in the Senate. "Cedent arma cottae," say the

friars in the Philippines. Father Sibyla, however, was a person of

some culture and refinement, and, as soon as he noticed the expression

on the lieutenant's face, said: "Here! We are now out in the world,

and not in the Church. This seat belongs to you, lieutenant!" But,

to judge from the tone of his voice, he thought that, although he

was out in the world and not in the Church, the seat nevertheless

belonged to him. The lieutenant, either to save himself trouble or

in order to avoid sitting between two friars, declined the honor in

a very few words.

Neither of the disputants had thought of the owner of the house. Ibarra

saw him looking upon the scene and smiling with satisfaction.

"How is this, Don Santiago! Aren't you going to sit down with us?"

But all of the seats were already occupied, and Lucullus did not dine

in the house of Lucullus.

"Sit still! Don't get up!" said Captain Tiago, laying his hand on

the young man's shoulder. "The fact is that this feast is given in

honor of the Virgin on account of your safe arrival. Here! Bring on

the tinola! I ordered some tinola made expressly for you, for I feel

quite certain that you have not had any since you left the Philippines

a long while ago."

A large dish was brought in, still steaming and filled to the brim

with tinola. The Dominican, after murmuring the Benedicite (to which

only a few of those present could give the response), began to serve

the contents of the dish. Either from carelessness or for some other

reason, he passed to Father Damaso a plate filled with the soup and

stew, but containing only two small pieces of chicken, a bony neck and

a tough wing. Meanwhile the others, especially Ibarra, were eating all

sorts of choice bits. The Franciscan, of course, noticed this, mussed

over the stew, took a mouthful of the soup, dropped his spoon with a

clatter into his plate, and pushed the dish to one side. While this was

going on, the Dominican appeared to be absorbed in conversation with

the young blonde. Senor Laruja had also begun to converse with Ibarra.

"How long has it been since you were last in this country?" said he.

"About seven years," responded Ibarra.

"You must have forgotten all about it."

"On the contrary, although my country seems to have forgotten me,

I have always kept her in mind."

"What do you mean?" interposed the blonde.

"I mean that for over a year I have not received any news from here,

so that now I feel like a total stranger. I do not yet know how or

when my father died."

"Ah!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"Where have you been that you did not telegraph?" asked one of the

ladies. "When I was married, we telegraphed to the Peninsula."

"Senora, for the last two years I have been in northern Europe,

in Germany and in Poland."

"And what country of Europe do you like best?" asked the young blonde,

who had been listening interestedly.

"After Spain, which is my second fatherland, oh-any free country

in Europe."

"You seem to have travelled a great deal-what is the most remarkable

thing that you have observed?" asked Laruja.

Ibarra appeared to be reflecting on the question. "Remarkable? In

what way?"

"For instance, in the life of the different peoples,-their social,

political and religious life-"

Ibarra meditated for some little time. "I always made it a point to

study the history of a country before visiting it, and I find that

national development invariably follows perfectly natural rules. I have

always noticed that the prosperity or poverty of different peoples

is in direct proportion to their liberties or their lack of liberty,

or, in other words, in proportion to the sacrifices or selfishness

of their forefathers."

"And is that all you have observed?" asked the Franciscan, with a

loud laugh. Up to this time, he had not uttered a single word, but

had given his attention to the dinner. "It was not worth while to

squander your fortune for the purpose of learning such a trifle-a

thing that every school boy knows."

Ibarra looked at him intently, doubtful what to say. The guests

glanced at each other, fearing that a quarrel would break out. "The

dinner has been too long, and Your Reverence is affected by too much

wine," Ibarra was about to reply, but he checked himself in time and

only said: "Gentlemen, do not wonder at the familiarity with which

our old parish priest treats me. He treated me this way when I was

a child, and the years that have passed since then have not changed

His Reverence. I derive a certain amount of pleasure from it, for I

am reminded of those days when His Reverence was a frequent visitor

at our house and honored my father's table."

The Dominican glanced furtively at the Franciscan, who was

trembling. Ibarra continued, rising from his chair: "You will allow

me to withdraw, for I have only just arrived, and I must leave

town to-morrow. Besides, I have a great many things to do before I

leave. The dinner is practically finished, and I drink very little

wine and scarcely touch spirits. Gentlemen, here's to Spain and the

Philippines."

Saying this, he emptied the glass, which, until then, he had not

touched. The old lieutenant followed his example, but said nothing.

"Do not go!" said Captain Tiago to him in a low voice. "Maria Clara

is coming immediately. Isabel has just gone to get her. The new parish

priest of your town is also coming, and he is a saint."

"I shall come to-morrow before I leave. I have to make a most

important visit yet to-night, and really must go!" With this he took

his departure. In the meantime, the Franciscan had recovered himself.

"You see how it is," said he to the young blonde, gesticulating with

his dessert knife. "It is nothing but pride. He could not bear to have

a priest reprove him. Can decent people believe it? This is the evil

consequence of sending young men to Europe. The Government ought to

prohibit it."

That night, the young blonde wrote, among other things, in the

first chapter of his "Colonial Studies": "How the neck and wing

of a chicken in a friar's plate of tinola can disturb the gayety

of a feast!" And among his other observations were the following:

"In the Philippines the most insignificant person at a dinner or a

feast is the host. The owner of the house has only to remain out in

the street, and everything will go along beautifully. In the present

state of affairs, it would be well to forbid the Filipinos to leave

their country, and not to teach them how to read."


	4. 03

CHAPTER III

HERETIC AND REVOLUTIONIST.

Ibarra was still confused, but the evening breeze, which, in Manila,

is at this time of the year always cool and refreshing, seemed gently

to lift the hazy mist which hung over his eyes. He removed his hat

and drew a deep, long breath.

Men of all nationalities passed by in swift carriages or in slow-going,

rented calesas. He was walking at that slow pace characteristic

alike of deep thought and laziness, and was making his way toward the

Plaza of Binondo. He looked about in search of any old and familiar

objects. Yes, there were the same old streets, the same old houses with

white and blue fronts, the same old walls covered with whitewash or

repainted in poor imitation of granite; there was the same old church

tower, its clock with transparent face still marking the hours; there,

too, were the old Chinese shops, with their dirty curtains and iron

rods, one of which remained unrepaired as he himself had bent it when

a boy.

"Things go slowly here!" he muttered and continued up the street past

the vestry.

As they dished up flavored ices, the street vendors were still crying

"sorbettes." The same little cocoanut oil lamps furnished light for

the stands where native women and Chinese disposed of their sweetmeats

and fruit.

"It is marvellous," he exclaimed. "There is the same Chinaman who was

at that stand seven years ago. There is that same old woman whom I

remember so well. Why, one might think my seven years in Europe but

a night's sleep. And, by heavens, they have not yet repaired this

broken place in the pavement!"

Indeed, the stone which had been torn out of the pavement before

he left Manila had not yet been replaced. While he was meditating

upon the wonderful stability of things in so unstable a country,

some one placed a hand upon his shoulder. With a start he looked up,

and his eyes met those of the old lieutenant, who also had left the

Captain's house. A smile had displaced the officer's usual harsh

expression and characteristic frown.

"Be careful, young man!" said he. "Remember what happened to your

father!"

"I beg your pardon. You seem to have esteemed my father very

highly. Can you tell me what has been his fate?" asked Ibarra, gazing

intently into the lieutenant's eyes.

"Do you not know?" said the officer.

"I asked Don Santiago, but he said that he would tell me nothing

until to-morrow. Have you no information regarding him?"

"Why, yes; everybody knows about him. He died in prison."

The young man stepped back and stared wildly at the officer. "In

prison! Who died in prison?" he asked in astonishment.

"Why, your father, who had been arrested," answered the officer

somewhat surprised.

"What! My father in prison! Arrested and imprisoned! Man, what are

you talking about? Do you know who my father was? Are you-?" asked

the young man, nervously grasping the officer's arm.

"I don't think that I am mistaken: Don Rafael Ibarra."

"Yes. Don Rafael Ibarra," repeated the young man, scarcely able to

utter the words.

"I thought that you knew it," said the officer, in a sympathetic

voice, as he saw the emotion his words had caused. "I thought that

you knew it; but be brave. Here, you know, no man can be honorable

without being imprisoned."

"I cannot believe that you are not jesting," replied Ibarra, after

a few minutes of deep silence. "Can you tell me for what offense he

was imprisoned?"

The old man paused as if to meditate. "It seems strange to me that

you have not been kept informed as to the affairs of your family."

"My father's last letter, which I received a year ago, told me not

to be uneasy if he failed to write to me, for he was very busy. He

advised me to continue my studies, he sent me his blessing-"

"In that case, he must have written the letter to you shortly before

his death. It is almost a year since we buried him in his own town."

"Why was my father arrested?" asked Ibarra in a voice full of emotion.

"The cause of his arrest was an honorable one. I must go to my

quarters now; walk along with me and then I can tell you on the

way. Take my arm."

They walked for some time in melancholy silence. Deep in thought and

nervously stroking his goatee, the officer sought inspiration before

he could begin the pitiful tale.

"As you very well know," he at last began, "your father was the richest

man in the province, and, although he was loved and highly respected by

many, there were some envious persons who hated him. Your father had

a great many enemies among the priests and the Spaniards. Some months

after your departure, trouble arose between Don Rafael and Father

Damaso, but I do not know what it was all about. Father Damaso accused

your father of not attending confession. In former times, however,

he had never attended confession. Nothing was said about it, and he

and the priest were good friends, as you will remember. Furthermore,

Don Rafael was a very honorable man and much more upright and just

than many who go to confession regularly. He was very conscientious,

and, in speaking to me in regard to his troubles with Father Damaso,

used to say:

"'Senor Guevara, do you believe that God will forgive a crime, a

murder for instance, simply because that crime has been confessed

to a priest-confessed to a man who is in duty bound to keep it

secret? Will God pardon a man whose repentance is brought about by

his cowardly fear of hell? I have a very different opinion of God. I

cannot see how one evil can be corrected by another, nor how pardon

can be procured by mere idle tears and donations to the Church.' Your

father always followed the strictest rules of morality. I may safely

say that he never harmed any one, but, on the contrary, always

sought by doing good to offset certain unjust deeds committed by your

grandfathers. However, his troubles with the priests continued and took

on a dangerous aspect. Father Damaso alluded to him from the pulpit,

and, if he did not do so directly by name, it was an oversight on his

part, for anything might be expected from a man of his character. I

foresaw that sooner or later the affair would have a bad ending."

The old lieutenant paused for a few minutes and then continued:

"About this time there came to the province a man who had been in

the artillery, but had been thrown out of the ranks on account of

his brutality and ignorance. This man had to make a livelihood. He

was not allowed to engage in the work of an ordinary laborer, since

that might damage Spain's prestige, but somehow obtained the position

of collector of taxes on vehicles. He had no education whatever, and

the natives soon found it out. A Spaniard who cannot read and write

is a wonder to them, and hence he became the subject of all sorts of

ridicule. Knowing that he was being laughed at, he became ashamed to

collect his taxes. This had a bad effect on his character, which was

already bad enough. People used to give him documents upside down to

see him pretend to read them. He would make a show of doing so, and

then, on the first blank space he found, would fill in some sprawling

characters which, I may say, represented him very accurately. The

natives continued to pay their taxes, but kept on ridiculing him. He

fairly raved with anger and worked himself up to such a frame of

mind that he respected none. Finally, he had some words with your

father. It happened that one day, while the collector was studying

a document which had been given to him in a store, some school boys

came along. One of them called the attention of his companions to the

collector, and they all began to laugh and point their fingers at the

unhappy man. The collector finally lost his patience, turned quickly

and chased his tormentors. The boys, of course, ran in all directions,

at the same time mimicking a child learning the alphabet. Blind with

rage because he could not reach them, he threw his cane, struck one

of the boys on the head and knocked him down. Not content with this,

he went up and kicked the boy several times. Unfortunately, your father

happened to be passing just at the moment. Indignant at what he saw,

he seized the tax collector by the arm and severely reproached him for

his actions. The tax collector in anger raised his cane to strike,

but your father was too quick for him. With that strength which he

inherited from his forefathers, he, as some say, struck the collector,

or, as others claim, only gave him a push. The fact is that the man

staggered and fell to the ground, and, in falling, struck his head

against a stone. Don Rafael quietly lifted up the wounded boy and

carried him to the court house near by, leaving the collector where

he had fallen. The ex-artilleryman began to bleed at the mouth and

died without regaining consciousness.

"Naturally the law stepped in. They showered calumnies of all

kinds upon your father and accused him of being a heretic and a

revolutionist. To be a heretic is a great misfortune anywhere or

at any time, but it was especially so at this particular time,

for the chief magistrate of the province was the loudest prayer

maker in the Church. To be a revolutionist is still worse. One might

better have killed three highly educated tax collectors than be thus

accused. Everybody deserted your father, and his books and papers

were seized. He was accused of being a subscriber to 'El Correo del

Ultramar' and to Madrid newspapers, of having sent you to Germany,

of having in his possession incriminating papers and pictures,

and-well, I don't know what not. He was even attacked because,

although he was the descendant of Spaniards, he wore the dress of

the natives. If your father had been anybody else, he would have been

acquitted, for the doctors pronounced the death of the collector due

to natural causes. His fortune, however, his confidence in the law,

and his hatred for everything which seemed unlawful and unjust, cost

him his life. I myself, much as I dislike begging for mercy, called

upon the Governor General, the predecessor of the present Governor. I

brought out the fact that a man who aided every poor Spaniard, who

gave food and shelter to all, and whose veins were filled with the

generous blood of Spain-such a man could not be a revolutionist. In

vain I argued for him, pledged my own life for him, and swore by

my military honor. What did it all amount to? I was badly received,

curtly and summarily dismissed, and called a fool."

The old man paused to take breath. His young companion neither looked

up nor made a sound. The narrator proceeded: "I took charge of the

case for your father. I called upon the celebrated Filipino lawyer,

young A-a, but he refused to undertake the defense. 'I would lose

the case,' he said, 'my defense would cause new accusations against

him, and perhaps bring them upon me. Go and see Senor M-, who is an

eloquent orator, a Spaniard and a man of great reputation.' I did so,

and the celebrated lawyer took charge of the case, which he conducted

in a masterful and brilliant manner. But your father had many enemies,

some of whom did their work secretly. There were many false witnesses

in the case, and their calumnies, which anywhere else would have been

overthrown by a single sarcastic phrase from the defending attorney,

were here given a great deal of weight. As fast as the attorney

proved the falsity of their accusations, new charges were brought

forward. They accused him of having wrongfully taken possession of

a large tract of land. They sued him for damages and for injuries

caused. They said that he had dealings with the organized bandits

or tulisanes, and that thus he had been able to keep his property

unmolested. In fact, the case became so complicated that within a year

no one understood it. The chief magistrate was called away from his

post and replaced by another of good reputation, but unfortunately

this magistrate, too, was displaced in a few months.

"The sufferings, disappointments and discomforts of prison life,

and his great grief at seeing the ingratitude of so many supposed

friends, finally broke down your father's iron constitution and he

became fatally ill. When it was all over; when he had proved himself

not guilty of being an enemy to his country, and innocent of the

death of the tax collector, he died in prison, with no one to care

for him in his last hours. I arrived just as he was expiring."

The old man had finished all he had to say. Ibarra, overcome with

grief at the pathetic story he had heard, could not utter a word. The

two had arrived at the gate of the barracks. Stopping and shaking

hands with the young man, the officer said: "My boy, Captain Tiago

can give you the details. I must say good night, for my duty calls

me." With deep emotion, Ibarra grasped the lean hand of the lieutenant,

and then looked after him in silence until he disappeared in the

building. Turning slowly about, he saw a carriage passing and made

a sign to the cabman.

"Lala's Hotel," he said in a low voice.

"This fellow is just out of jail," said the cabman to himself as he

whipped up his horses.


	5. 04

CHAPTER IV

CAPTAIN TIAGO.

Captain Tiago was short in stature, but both his body and his

face were well filled out. His complexion was clear and he did not

appear to be more than thirty or thirty-five years old, although

he was really more than that. In these times his face always wore a

pleasant expression. His head was small, round and covered with hair

as black as ebony, long in front and very short behind. This head,

according to reports, contained a great many things. His eyes were

small but not terrifying, and always without expression. In short,

the Captain might have passed for a good-looking little man, if his

mouth had not been disfigured by the use of tobacco and the betel

nut, the juices of which trickled out of the corners of his lips and

destroyed the symmetry of his features. However, despite these habits,

both his own teeth and the two that the dentist had made for him,

at twelve pesos each, were well preserved.

Tiago was considered one of the richest property owners in Binondo,

and he also owned large plantations in the provinces of Pampanga and

Laguna de Bay, especially in the town of San Diego. The rent of all

these lands increased every year. San Diego was his favorite town

on account of its excellent bathing place, its famous cockpit and

the pleasant memories associated with the neighborhood. He spent at

least two months in this town every year. Captain Tiago also had

a great deal of property in Santo Cristo, in Analoague Street and

in Rosario Street. In partnership with a Chinaman he carried on a

profitable business in opium. It is understood that he had contracts

with the Government for feeding the prisoners in Bilibid and that

he supplied fodder to many of the principal houses in Manila. He was

in good standing with the authorities, able, clever, and even daring

in his speculations in the necessities of others. Hence it was that

at this time the Captain was as happy as a narrow-minded man could

be in such a country. He was rich, and was at peace with God, the

Government and man.

That Tiago was at peace with God was indisputable. In fact, there was

no reason whatever for his not being so, since he was well situated as

far as worldly matters go and had never loaned God any money. He never

addressed God in his prayers, not even when he was in dire straits. He

was rich, and his money, he thought, could pray for him. For masses

and prayers, God had created powerful and lofty priests; for special

religious functions and rosaries, God, in His infinite goodness, for

the benefit of the rich, had created poor people-poor people who for

a peso would make half a dozen prayers, and would read all the Holy

Books, even to the Hebrew Bible, if the pay were large enough. If

at any time he found himself in hard straits and needed heavenly

aid and was out of red Chinese candles, he applied to the saints,

making them great promises in order to win their favor and convince

them of his good intentions.

Captain Tiago was therefore beloved by the priests, respected by the

sacristans, fondled by the Chinese candle-makers and fire-cracker

merchants, and thoroughly happy in the religion of the world. Some

even attributed to him great influence in the ecclesiastical court.

That the Captain was at peace with the Government must not be doubted

simply because such a thing seems impossible. Incapable of conceiving a

new idea and content with the modus vivendi, he was always willing to

obey the latest official recruit in any of the Government offices and

even ready to give him at all times of the year such presents as hams,

capons, turkeys, and Chinese fruit. He was the first to applaud any

tax imposed by the Government, especially when he scented behind it

a chance of securing the contract for its collection. He always kept

orchestras on hand to serenade Government officials of all grades

from governor to the lowest Government agent, on their birthdays,

saint's days, or when any occasion, such as the death of any of

their relatives, or a birth in the family connection should afford

a pretext. He even went so far as to dedicate laudatory verses to

his royal patrons on these occasions, thus honoring the "suave and

loving governor" or the "valiant and mighty alcalde."

The Captain was a petty governor or gobernadorcillo of a rich colony

of mestizos, in spite of the protests of many who considered him

unfit for the position. He held the office for two years, but during

this time he wore out ten frock coats, about the same number of high

hats, and lost more than a half dozen of gobernadorcillo canes. His

high hat and frock coat were always in evidence in the city hall, at

the Government palace in Melacanan [1] and at the army headquarters,

and they always appeared, too, in the cock-pit, in the market, in all

processions, and in the Chinese shops. Dressed in this official costume

with the tasseled cane, Captain Tiago was to be found everywhere,

arranging, ordering, and putting in disorder, everything with which

he had anything to do-and all with wonderful activity and with still

more wonderful gravity.

Sacrilegious people called him a fool; poor people called him a

hypocrite, a cruel man who gained a livelihood by making others

miserable; while his inferiors looked upon him as a despot and a

tyrant. And the women? Ah, the women! Slanderous rumors circulated in

the wretched nipa houses, and it was claimed that often lamentations

and sobs, mingled with the cries of a child, could be heard. More

than one young girl was pointed out by the malicious finger of the

neighbors, with the remark: "See what a different expression she wears,

and how plainly she shows evidences of her shame." But such things as

these never robbed the Captain of any sleep; no young girl disturbed

his rest.

Such was the Captain at that time. His past history was as follows: He

was the only son of a very wealthy but avaricious sugar manufacturer

of Malabon, who was unwilling to spend a cent in his education. For

this reason young Santiago became the servant of a good Dominican, a

very virtuous man, who tried to teach him all the valuable knowledge

which he possessed. About the time when he was to have the happiness

of studying logic, the death of his protector, followed by that of his

father, put an end to his studies and from that time on he devoted

himself to business. He married a beautiful girl from Santa Cruz,

who increased his fortune and gave him a social position.

Dona Pia Alba was not content with buying sugar, coffee and indigo;

she wished to sow and reap, so the young husband bought lands in

San Diego. It was in this town that he made the acquaintance and

friendship of Father Damaso and of Don Rafael Ibarra, the richest

capitalist of the town.

The lack of an heir for the first six years of his married life gave

him a great opportunity to accumulate wealth, which perhaps was a

censurable ambition. Although Dona Pia was handsome, robust and well

formed, she made her pilgrimages in vain. By advice of the devotees of

San Diego, she visited the Virgin of Cayasay in Taal; she gave alms,

and she danced in the procession before the Virgin of Turumba in Pakil

under the May sun, but it was all in vain. Finally, on the advice

of Father Damaso, she went to Obando, and there danced at the fiesta

of San Pascual Bailon and asked for a son. It is well known that in

Obando there is a trinity-Our Lady of Salambau, Santa Clara and San

Pascual-which grants sons or daughters as required. Thanks to this

wise triumvirate, Dona Pia became a mother, but like the fisherman

in Macbeth, who ceased to sing after he found a rich treasure,

Dona Pia lost her gayety, became very sad and was never seen to

smile again. Every one, even to Captain Tiago, declared that it was

a pure caprice. A puerperal fever put an end to her grief, leaving

a beautiful daughter motherless. Father Damaso baptized the child,

and, as San Pascual had not given the son which had been asked for,

the name of Maria Clara was given to it in honor of the Virgin of

Salambau and of Santa Clara. The little girl grew up under the care

of her aunt Isabel,-that good old lady with the manners of a friar

whom we met before. The little girl lived the greater part of the

time in San Diego on account of the healthful climate, and while

there Father Damaso paid her much attention.

Maria Clara did not have the small eyes of her father. Like her mother,

her eyes were large, black and shaded by long lashes, brilliant and

smiling when she was playing, but sad, deep and pensive at other

times. When a child her wavy hair was almost blond. Her nose was

well formed, neither too large nor too flat. Her mouth was small and

beautifully shaped like that of her mother, and her cheeks were set

with dimples. Her skin was like silk and as white as snow, but her

fond parent found traces of the paternity of Captain Tiago in her

small and well shaped ears.

Aunt Isabel attributed the child's semi-European features to

impressions made upon Dona Pia. She remembered having seen the mother a

short time before the child was born, weeping before the image of San

Antonio. Then, too, a cousin of Captain Tiago had the same features,

the only difference being in the choice of the saints, by which the

phenomenon was explained. With her it was either the Virgin or San

Miguel. A cousin of Captain Tiago, a famous philosopher, who knew

Amat [2] by heart, explained it all by attributing it to the effect

of the planets.

Maria Clara, the idol of all, grew up surrounded by love and

smiles. She won the favor of even the friars when she was dressed in

white for some religious procession, her long, wavy hair interwoven

with flowers, two silver or golden wings attached to the shoulders

of her dress, and holding two white doves, tied with blue ribbons,

in her hand. When she grew up, she was so full of childish mischief

that Captain Tiago did nothing but bless the saints of Obando and

advise everybody to buy handsome statues of that trinity.

In tropical countries a girl becomes a woman at the age of thirteen

or fourteen years, like the plant which buds at night and blooms

the following morning. During this period of transition, so full of

mystery and romance, on the advice of the parish priest, Maria Clara

entered the religious retreat of Santa Catalina in order to receive

from the nuns a strictly religious education. She left Father Damaso

in tears, and likewise the only friend of her childhood, Crisostomo

Ibarra. Shortly after the entrance to the convent, Ibarra went to

Europe. For seven long years, the girl lived under the vigilance of

the Mother Superior in the iron-grated building, shut off from any

communication with the outer world.

Don Rafael and Captain Tiago, in the meantime, while Ibarra was

in Europe and Maria Clara in the convent, noticing the trend of

affairs, and at the same time having in mind their own interests,

decided that the children should be married. It is needless to say

that this agreement, which was arrived at some years after Ibarra

had left for Europe, was celebrated with equal joy by two hearts,

on opposite sides of the world and amid very different surroundings.


	6. 05

CHAPTER V

AN IDYL ON THE AZOTEA. [3]

On the morning after the dinner party, Aunt Isabel and Maria Clara

went to mass early: the former carefully carrying her glasses, so that

she might be able to read "The Anchor of Salvation" during communion;

the latter beautifully dressed, carrying her rosary of blue beads

as a bracelet. The priest had scarcely left the altar when, to the

disgust and surprise of her good aunt, who thought that her niece was

as pious and as fond of prayer as a nun, the young girl desired to go

home. After a great deal of grumbling, the old lady crossed herself

several times, and the two arose to leave. "Never mind," said Maria,

to cut off the scolding, "the good God will pardon me. He ought to

understand the heart of a girl better than you, Aunt Isabel."

After breakfast, Maria Clara occupied herself with some embroidery

while her aunt bustled about with a duster removing the traces of

the social event of the preceding evening. Captain Tiago was busy

examining some papers.

Every noise in the street and every passing carriage made the girl

tremble with anxiety and wish that she were again back in the convent

among her friends. There, she thought, she could see him without

trembling and with perfect equanimity.

"I believe, Maria, that the doctor is right," said Captain Tiago. "You

ought to go to the provinces. You are looking very pale and need a

change of air. How does Malabon strike you, or San Diego?"

At the mere mention of the latter name, Maria Clara blushed and was

unable to speak.

"Now, you and Isabel go to the convent to get your things and say

good bye to your friends," continued the Captain, without raising

his head. "You will not return there. And in four or five days, when

your clothes are ready we shall go to Malabon. -Your godfather,

by the way, is not in San Diego at present. The priest whom you saw

here last night, that young fellow, is now the priest in the town. He

is a saint."

"I think you will find San Diego better, cousin," said Aunt

Isabel. "Our house there is better than the one in Malabon, and

besides, it is nearly time for the fiesta to take place."

Maria Clara was about to embrace her aunt for these welcome words,

but just then a carriage stopped in front of the house and the young

girl suddenly turned pale.

"That's so," said the Captain, and then, in a changed tone, exclaimed,

"Don Crisostomo!"

Maria Clara let fall the work which she was holding in her hands. A

nervous trembling passed over her. Then steps were heard on the stairs

and presently a young, manly voice. And, as if this voice had some

magic power, the girl shook off her emotion, started to run, and hid

herself in the oratory. Both father and aunt had to laugh at this,

and even Ibarra heard the closing of the door behind her.

Pale and panting, the girl finally subdued her emotion and began to

listen. She could hear his voice, that voice which for so long a time

she had heard only in her dreams. Beside herself with joy, she kissed

the nearest saint, which, by the way, happened to be San Antonio,

the abbot. Happy saint! Whether alive or carved in wood, always

tempted in the most charming manner! Becoming quite herself again,

she looked about for some crack through which she might get a peep

at the young man. Finally, when he came in range of the key-hole and

she again saw his fine features, her face beamed with smiles. In fact,

the sight filled her with such joy that when her aunt came to call her,

Maria Clara fell on the old lady's neck and kissed her repeatedly.

"You goose! What is the matter with you?" the old lady was finally

able to ask, after wiping away her tears.

Maria Clara, in her modesty, covered her face with her round arm.

"Come! Hurry up and get yourself ready!" said the old lady in an

affectionate tone. "While he is talking with your father about you-

Come, do not waste time!"

The girl did not respond, but allowed herself to be picked up like

a child and carried to her room.

Captain Tiago and Ibarra were talking earnestly when at last Aunt

Isabel appeared, half dragging her niece by the hand. At first the

girl looked in every direction but at the persons present. At last,

however, her eyes met Ibarra's.

The conversation of the young lovers was at first confined to the

usual trifling remarks, those pleasant little things which, like the

boasts of European nations, are enjoyable and interesting to those

who are concerned and understand them, but ridiculous to outsiders.

Finally, she, like all sisters of Cain, was moved by jealously and

asked: "Have you always thought of me? Have you never forgotten

me in your many travels among so many great cities and among such

beautiful women?"

And he, a true brother of Cain, dodged the issue, and, being something

of a diplomat, answered: "Could I forget you?" And then, gazing into

her deep, dark eyes, "Could I break a sacred vow? Do you remember that

stormy night when you, seeing me in tears beside my dead mother, came

to me and placed your hand-that hand which I have not touched for

so long-upon my shoulder, and said: 'You have lost your mother,-I

never had one.' And then you wept with me. You loved my mother, and

she loved you as only a mother can love a daughter. It was raining

then, you will remember, and the lightning flashed, but I seemed

to hear music and to see a smile on the face of my dead mother.-O,

if my parents were only living and could see you now!-That night I

took your hand and, joining it with my mother's, I swore always to

love you and make you happy, no matter what fate Heaven might have

in store for me. I have never regretted that vow, and now renew it."

"Since the day that I bade you good-bye and entered the convent,"

she answered, smiling, "I have always remembered you, and have never

forgotten you in spite of the commands of my confessor, who imposed

severe penances on me. I remembered the little games we used to play

together and our little quarrels. When we were children you used to

find in the river the most beautiful shells for our games of siklot

and the finest and most beautifully colored stones for our game of

sinkat. You were always very slow and stupid and lost, but you always

paid the forfeit, which I gave you with the palm of my hand. But I

always tried to strike lightly, for I was sorry for you. You always

cheated, even more than I, in the game of chouka and we generally

quarrelled over it. Do you remember that time when you really became

angry? Then you made me suffer, but when I found that I had no one to

quarrel with, we made peace immediately. We were still children when

we went with your mother one day to bathe in the stream under the

shade of the reeds. Many flowers and plants grew on the bank of the

river, and you used to tell me their strange Latin and Spanish names,

for you were then studying at the Athenaeum. I paid little attention,

but amused myself by chasing butterflies and in trying to catch the

little fish which slipped away from me so easily among the rocks and

weeds of the shore. You suddenly disappeared from sight, but when

you returned you brought a wreath of orange flowers and placed it on

my head. On our way home, as the sun was hot, I collected some sage

leaves from the side of the road for you to put into your hat and

thus prevent headache. Then you laughed, we made up, and came the

remainder of the way home hand in hand."

Ibarra smiled as he listened attentively to every detail of the

story. Opening his pocket book, he took out a paper in which he had

wrapped some withered but fragrant sage leaves. "Your sage leaves,"

said he in answer to her questioning glance. "The only thing you have

ever given me."

She, in turn, drew a little, white satin bag from the bosom of her

dress. "Stop!" she said, tapping his hand with her own. "You must

not touch it; it is a letter of farewell."

"The one that I wrote you before leaving?"

"My dear sir, have you ever written any other?"

"And what did I say then?"

"Many falsehoods; excuses of a bad debtor," replied she, smiling

and showing how agreeable these falsehoods had been to her. "But be

quiet! I will read it to you, but I will omit your polite speeches

out of consideration for your feelings."

Raising the paper to the height of her eyes, in order to conceal her

face, she began. "'My-,' I shall not read you what follows that,

for it is not true." She ran her eyes over some lines and began to read

again: "'My father wishes me to go away, in spite of my entreaties. He

says that I am a man and must think of my future and my duty; that I

must learn how to live, which I cannot do in my own country, so that in

the future I may be of some use. He says that if I remain at his side,

in his shadow, in this atmosphere of business, I will never learn how

to look ahead, and that when he is gone, I shall be like the plant

of which our poet Baltazar speaks-as it always lives in the water,

it never learns how to endure a moment's heat.-He reproached me

because I wept, and his reproach hurt me so that I confessed that I

loved you. My father stopped, thought a moment and, placing his hand

on my shoulder, said in a trembling voice: "Do you think that you

alone know how to love, that your father does not love you, and that

his heart is not pained at being separated from you? It is a short

time since your mother died, and I am already reaching that age when

the help and counsel of youth are needed. And yet I consent to your

going, not even knowing that I shall ever see you again. The future is

opening to you, but closing to me. Your loves are being born; mine are

dying. Fire blazes in your blood, but cold is gradually finding its

way into mine. And yet you weep, and are not willing to sacrifice the

present for a future useful to yourself and your country." The eyes of

my father filled with tears and I fell upon my knees at his feet and

embraced him. I asked his pardon and said that I was willing to go.'"

The emotion which Ibarra manifested put an end to the reading. As

pale as death, he arose and began to walk nervously from one side to

the other.

"What is the matter?" she asked.

"You have made me forget that I have duties to perform, and that I

ought to leave immediately for my town. To-morrow is the fiesta in

memory of the dead."

Maria Clara stopped and silently fixed her large and dreamy eyes upon

him for some minutes. Then taking some flowers from a vase near by,

she said with emotion: "Go! I do not wish to detain you. We shall see

each other again in a few days. Place these flowers on the graves of

your father and mother."

A few moments later, Ibarra descended the stairs, accompanied by

Captain Tiago and Dona Isabel, while Maria Clara locked herself up

in the oratory.

"Do me the favor to tell Andeng to get the house ready, and that

Maria and Isabel are coming. A pleasant journey!" While the Captain

was saying this, Ibarra got into the carriage and drove off in the

direction of the Plaza of San Gabriel.

A few minutes later the Captain shouted to Maria Clara, who was weeping

by the side of the image of the Virgin: "Hurry up and light two peseta

candles in honor of San Roque and another in honor of San Rafael, the

patron saint of travellers. And light the lamp of Our Lady of Peace

and Protector of Travellers, for there are many bandits about. It is

better to spend four reales for wax and six cuartos for oil than to

have to pay a big ransom later on."


	7. 06

CHAPTER VI

THINGS PHILIPPINE.

Father Damaso drove up in front of Captain Tiago's house and the

Franciscan stepped to the ground just as Aunt Isabel and Maria Clara

were getting into their silver-trimmed carriage. They saluted Father

Damaso, and he, in his preoccupation, gently patted Maria Clara on

the cheek.

"Where are you going?" the friar asked.

"To the convent to get my things," replied the younger.

"Ah, ha! Ah, ha! We'll see who is the stronger. We'll see!" he muttered

and turned away, leaving the two women in wonder as to what it all

meant. The friar stepped along lightly, and reaching the stairs,

went up.

"He must be studying his sermon," said Isabel. "Get in, Maria; we

shall be late."

Whether Father Damaso was studying his sermon or not we cannot say. At

any rate, he was absorbed in some important matter, for he even forgot

to extend his hand to Captain Tiago upon entering, greatly to the

embarrassment of the Captain, who had to feign kissing it.

"Santiago, we have some very important matters to talk over; let us

go to your office."

The Captain, somewhat disturbed, was unable to reply, but he obeyed

and followed the big priest into his office. Father Damaso shut the

door behind them.

While they are conferring in secret, let us find out what has

become of Brother Sibyla. The wise Dominican was not to be found at

his parochial residence, for early, immediately after mass, he had

gone to the Dominican convent, situated near the gate called Isabel

the Second or Magallanes, according to which family is in power in

Madrid. Paying no attention to the delicious odor of chocolate or

to the rattling of money boxes and coins in the treasurer's office,

and scarcely answering the deferential salute of the treasurer, Father

Sibyla went upstairs, crossed several corridors and rapped on a door.

"Come in!" answered a voice.

"May God give back health to Your Reverence!" was the greeting of

the young Dominican as he entered.

A very feeble old priest was seated in a large arm-chair. His

complexion was as yellow as the saints which Revera paints; his eyes

were sunk deep in their orbits, and his heavy eyebrows, which were

nearly always knit in a frown, added to the brilliant glare of his

death-foreboding eyes.

"I have come to talk to you about the charge with which you have

entrusted me," said Father Sibyla.

"Ah, yes. And what about it?"

"Pshaw!" answered the young man with disgust, seating himself and

turning his face away with disdain. "They have been telling us a

lot of lies. Young Ibarra is a prudent boy. He does not seem to be

a fool. I think he is a pretty good sort of a chap."

"Do you think so?"

"Hostilities began last night."

"So soon? And how did it come about?"

Father Sibyla related briefly what had taken place between Father

Damaso and Crisostomo Ibarra.

"Furthermore," he added, in conclusion, "the young man is going to

marry that daughter of Captain Tiago, who was educated in the college

of our sisters. He is rich and would not want to make any enemies

who might cause the loss of his happiness and his fortune."

The sick man bowed his head as a sign of assent. "Yes, that is my

opinion. With such a wife and such a father-in-law we can hold him

body and soul. And if not, it will be all the better for us if he

declares himself our enemy."

Father Sibyla looked at the old man with surprise.

"That is to say, for the good of our whole corporation," he added,

breathing with difficulty. "I prefer open attacks to the foolish

praise and adulations of friends, for, the truth is, flattery is

always paid for."

"Does Your Reverence think so?"

The old man looked at him sadly. "Always bear this in mind," he

answered, panting with fatigue, "that our power will endure as long

as it is believed in. If they attack us, the Government says, 'They

attack them, because they see in them an obstacle to their liberty,

therefore let us preserve them.'"

"And if the Government gives them a hearing? Sometimes the

Government-"

"The Government will do no such thing."

"Nevertheless, if some bold and reckless man, impelled by covetousness,

should dare to think that he wanted our possessions-"

"Then, woe to him!"

For a moment both remained silent.

"Furthermore," continued the sick man, "it will do us good to have

them attack us and wake us up. It would show us our weaknesses and

strengthen us. The exaggerated praises which we get deceive us,

and put us asleep. We are becoming ridiculous and on the day that we

become ridiculous we shall fall as we fell in Europe. Money will no

longer flow into our churches, no one will longer buy our scapularies

or girdles, and when we cease to be rich we shall no longer possess

the great influence which we wield at present."

"Pshaw! We shall always have our property, our plantations-"

"We shall lose them all as we lost them in Europe. And the worst

of it is that we are working for our own ruin. For instance, this

immeasurable ambition to raise the incomes from our lands each year,

this eagerness to increase the rents, which I have always opposed

in vain, this eagerness will be our ruin. The natives already find

themselves forced to buy land in other localities if they want lands

as good as ours. I fear that we are degenerating. 'Whom the gods would

destroy they first make mad.' For this reason we should not be too hard

on the people, for they are already grumbling under our exactions. You

have considered well. Let us leave this thing to others, and keep up

the prestige which we have and let us endeavor to appear before God

with clean hands. May the God of pity have mercy on our weaknesses!"

"So you believe that the tax or tribute-"

"Let us talk no more of money!" interrupted the sick man with

disgust. "You were saying that the lieutenant and Father Damaso

last night-"

"Yes, Father," answered the young priest smiling. "But this morning I

saw the lieutenant again and he told me that he was sorry for what had

occurred at the dinner. He said he thought that he had been affected by

too much wine and that the same was true of Father Damaso. 'And your

boast to tell the Governor?' I asked jokingly. 'Father,' he answered,

'I know when to make my word good so long as it does not stain my

honor. That is just the reason why I wear only two stars.'"

After talking over several minor matters, Father Sibyla took his leave.

As a matter of fact the lieutenant had not gone to the Governor

General's palace in Melacanan with any report in regard to the

occurrence of the preceding evening. However, the Governor General

had learned of it through another source, and discussing the matter

with one of his aides, he said:

"A woman and a priest can give no offense. I intend to live peaceably

while I remain in this country and I do not wish to have any trouble

with men who wear skirts. And, furthermore, I have found out that

the Father Provincial has evaded my orders in this matter. I asked

for the removal of that friar as a punishment. What was done? They

removed him, but they gave him another and much better town. 'Tricks

of the friars,' as they say in Spain."

But when His Excellency found himself alone he ceased to

smile. "Ah!" he sighed, "if the people were not so stupid they would

put a limit to their reverences. But every people deserves its fate,

and we are no different in this respect from the rest of the world."

Meanwhile Captain Tiago had concluded his conference with Father

Damaso, or rather Father Damaso had concluded it.

"I have already warned you!" said the Franciscan on taking his

leave. "You could have avoided all of this had you consulted with

me before, and, if you had not lied to me, when I asked you about

it. See to it that you do not do any more such foolish things, and

have faith in your godfather."

Captain Tiago took two or three steps towards the sala, meditating

and sighing. All at once, as if some good idea had struck him, he

ran to the oratory and put out the candles and the lamps which had

been lighted for Ibarra's protection.

"There is still time enough," he murmured, "for he has a long road

to travel."


	8. 07

CHAPTER VII

SAN DIEGO AND ITS PEOPLE.

Not far from the shores of the Laguna de Bay lies the town of San

Diego, surrounded by fertile fields and rice plantations. It exports

sugar, rice, coffee, and fruits, or sells them at ridiculously low

prices to the Chinese, who make large profits out of the credulity

and vices of the laborers.

When the sky was serene and the atmosphere clear, the boys used

to climb to the very peak of the old moss and vine covered church

tower. And what exclamations they would utter when, from that high

pinnacle, they looked out at the beautiful panorama that surrounded

them. There before them lay a great mass of roofs, some nipa, some

thatch, some zinc and some made out of the native grasses. And out of

that mass, which here and there gave way to an orchard or a garden,

every one of those boys could find his own little home, his own

little nest. To them everything was a landmark; every tamarind tree

with its light foliage, every cocoanut tree with its load of nuts,

every bending cane, every bonga tree, every cross. Beyond the town is

the crystal river, like a serpent asleep on a carpet of green. Here

and there, its tranquil surface is broken by rocks projecting from

its sandy bottom. In places, it is hemmed in between two high banks,

and there the rapidly rushing waters turn and twist the half-bared

roots of the overhanging shade trees. But further on it spreads itself

out again and becomes calm and peaceful.

But what always attracts attention is a peninsula of forest projecting

into this sea of cultivated land. There can be found hollow-trunked

trees, a century old, trees which die only when struck by lightning

and set on fire. They say, also, that even in that case the fire never

spreads to any other tree. This old grove is held in a certain degree

of awe, for around it have been woven many strange legends. Of these

the most probable, and consequently the least known and believed is

the following:

When the town was still a miserable group of huts, when weeds grew

in abundance in the so-called streets, and deer and wild boar roamed

about at night, there arrived one day an old Spaniard. His eyes were

deep and thoughtful and he spoke Tagalog fluently. After visiting

the different estates and peddling out some goods he inquired for

the owners of this grove, which by the way, also contained several

hot water springs. A number of persons claiming to be the owners

presented themselves, and the old man purchased from them the grove,

paying in exchange some money, jewelry and clothing. A short time

afterward he disappeared, no one knew where.

His sudden disappearance made the people think for a time that he

had been spirited away, but later on a fetid odor was noticeable

near the grove, and some shepherds, upon investigation, found the

body of the old man in a badly decomposed condition hanging from the

limb of a baliti tree. When alive the old man had terrorized many by

his deep and resonant voice, his sunken eyes and his silent laugh,

but now that he was dead, and a suicide at that, the mere mention

of his name gave the town women nightmare. Some of them threw the

jewelry that they had bought from him into the river and burned all

the clothing, and, for a long time after the body had been buried

at the foot of the baliti tree, no one cared to venture near it. All

sort of stories became current about the haunted place.

A shepherd, looking for his flock, said that he had seen lights in the

grove. A party of young men, passing near the place, heard groans and

lamentations. An unfortunate lover, in order to make an impression on

the disdainful object of his affections, promised to spend a night

under the tree and to bring her a branch from its trunk, but on the

next day he was taken ill with a quick fever and died.

Before many months had passed, a youth came to the town one day. He

was apparently a Spanish mestizo, declared himself the son of the

dead stranger, and established himself in that far-off corner of the

world. He began to farm the land and devoted himself especially to

the cultivation of indigo. Don Saturnino was a taciturn young man,

violent and sometimes cruel, but very active and industrious. He

built a wall around his father's grave and, from time to time, went

all alone to visit it. A few years later he married a young girl from

Manila who bore him a son, Rafael, the father of Crisostomo.

Don Rafael, from his earliest youth, was fond of farming. Under his

care, the agriculture which had been started and fostered by his father

was rapidly developed. New inhabitants flocked to the vicinity, and

among them were a great many Chinese. The village grew very fast and

was soon supporting a native priest. After it had become a pueblo,

the native priest died and Father Damaso took his place.

Still the grave and the adjoining lands were respected. At times,

children, armed with sticks and stones, ventured to wander about,

exploring the surrounding country and gathering guayabas, papays,

lomboy and other native fruits. Then, all of a sudden, while they were

busily engaged collecting the fruits, some one would catch a glimpse of

the old rope hanging from the baliti tree, and stones would be heard to

fall. Then some one would cry, "The old man!" "The old man!" Dropping

fruit, sticks and stones, and leaping from the trees, the boys would

flee in all directions through the thickets and between the rocks,

not stopping until they emerged from the grove, pale and panting,

some laughing, some crying.

You could not say that Don Rafael, while alive, was the most

influential man in San Diego, although it is true that he was the

richest, owned the most land, and had put almost everybody else

under obligations to him. He was modest and always belittled his

own deeds. He never tried to form a party of his own, and, as we

have already seen, no one came to his aid when his fortune seemed to

fail him.

Whenever Captain Tiago arrived in town, his debtors received him with

an orchestra, gave him a banquet, and loaded him down with gifts. If

a deer or a wild boar was caught he always had a quarter of it for

his own table; if any of his debtors found a beautiful horse, within

a half hour it would be in the Captain's stable. All of this is true,

but still when the Captain had his back turned they made fun of him

and referred to him as Sacristan Tiago.

The gobernadorcillo [4] was an unhappy fellow who never commanded but

always obeyed; he never attacked any one, but was always attacked;

he never ordered anybody, but everybody ordered him; and besides, he

had to take the responsibility for everything that they had commanded,

ordered or disposed. The position had cost him five thousand pesos

and many humiliations, but, considering the profits he made, the

price was very cheap.

San Diego was like Rome; not the Rome of the time of Romulus, when

he marked out the walls with a plough, nor when, later, he bathed

in his own blood and that of others and dictated laws to the world:

no, San Diego was like the Rome of contemporaneous history, with this

difference-instead of being a city of marble, monuments and coliseums,

it was a city of sauali [5] and cock-pits. The parochial priest of

San Diego corresponded to the Pope in the Vatican; the alferez [6]

of the Civil Guard to the King of Italy in the Quirinal, but both

in the same proportion as the sauali or native wood and the nipa

cock-pits corresponded to the monuments of marble and coliseums. And

in San Diego, as in Rome, there was continual trouble. Everybody

wanted to be the leading senor, and there was always some one else

in the way. Let us describe two of these ambitious citizens.

Friar Bernando Salvi was the young and silent Franciscan whom we

mentioned in a preceding chapter. He had even more of the customs

and manners of his brotherhood than had his predecessor, the violent

Father Damaso. He was slender, sickly, almost always pensive, and very

strict in the fulfillment of his religious duties as well as very

careful of his good name. A month after his arrival in the parish

almost all the inhabitants became brothers of the "Venerable Third

Order," to the great grief of its rival, "The Brotherhood of the Most

Sacred Rosary." His heart leaped with joy at seeing on every neck in

the town from four to five scapularies, a knotted cord around every

waist, and every funeral procession dressed in habits of guingon. The

sacristan mayor or head warden of the order made quite a little capital

by selling and giving away all those things considered necessary to

save the soul and overcome the devil.

The only enemy of this powerful soul saver, with tendencies in accord

with the times, was, as we have already stated, the alferez. The women

relate a story of how the devil tried one day to tempt Father Salvi

and how the latter caught him, tied him to the bed post, whipped

him with a lash and kept him tied fast for nine days. Thus he had

been able to conquer the devil entirely. As a result, any one who

persisted in being an enemy of the priest was generally considered a

worse man than the devil himself-an honor which the alferez alone

enjoyed. But he merited this reputation. He had a wife, an old,

powdered and painted Filipino by the name of Dona Consolacion. The

husband and several other people called her by a different name,

but that does not matter. Anyway, the alferez was accustomed to drown

the sorrows of unhappy wedlock by getting as drunk as a toper. Then,

when he was thoroughly intoxicated he would order his men to drill

in the sun, he himself remaining in the shade, or, perhaps, he would

occupy himself in beating his wife.

When her husband was dead drunk, or was snoring away in a siesta,

and Dona Consolacion could not fight with him, then, wearing a blue

flannel shirt, she would seat herself in the window, with a cigar

in her mouth. She had a dislike of children and so from her window

she would scowl and make faces at every girl that passed. The girls,

on the other hand, were afraid of her, and would hurry by at a quick

pace, never daring to raise their eyes or draw a breath. But say what

you may, Dona Consolacion had one great virtue; she was never known

to look into a mirror.

These were the leading people of San Diego.

Toward the west of San Diego, surrounded by rice fields, lies a village

of the dead. A single, narrow path, dusty on dry days, and navigable

by boats when it rains, leads thither from the town. A wooden gate,

and a fence, half stone and half bamboo, seem to separate the cemetery

from the people in the town, but not from the goats and sheep of the

parochial priest of the immediate vicinity. These animals go in and

out to rummage among the tombs or to make that solitary place glad

with their presence.

One day a little old man entered the cemetery, his eyes sparkling and

his head uncovered. Upon seeing him, many laughed, while a number of

the women knit their eyebrows in scorn. The old man seemed to take

no notice of these manifestations, but went directly toward a pile

of skulls, knelt down and began to search among the bones. After he

had sorted over with considerable care the skulls one by one, he drew

his eyebrows together, as though he did not find what he was looking

for, moved his head from side to side, looked in all directions,

and finally got up and went over toward a grave-digger.

"Eh, there!" he shouted to him.

The grave-digger raised his head.

"Do you know where that beautiful skull is, the one white as the meat

of a cocoanut, with a complete set of teeth, which I had over there

at the foot of the cross under those leaves?"

The grave-digger shrugged his shoulders.

"Look you!" added the little old man, bringing out of his pocket a

handful of silver. "I have more than that, but I will give it to you

if you find the skull for me."

The glitter of the coin made the grave-digger reflect. He looked

over in the direction of the bone pile and said: "Isn't it over

there? No? Then I don't know where it is."

"Don't you know? When my debtors pay me, I will give you more,"

continued the old man. "It was my wife's skull, and if you find it

for me-"

"Isn't it there. Then I don't know where it is," repeated the

grave-digger with emphasis. "But I will give you another."

"You are like the grave that you are digging," cried the old man

irritably. "You don't know the value of what you lose. For whom is

this grave?"

"For a dead person, of course," replied the bad-humored man.

"Like a tomb! Like a tomb!" repeated the old man dryly. "You don't

know what you throw out nor what you swallow. Dig! dig!"

At this the old man, who was Tasio, the village philosopher, turned

and started toward the gate.

In the meantime, the grave-digger had finished his job, and two

little mounds of fresh, red clay were piled on either side of the

grave. He took some betel nut out of his broad-brimmed hat, and began

to chew away, looking with an air of stupidity at everything within

his horizon.


	9. 08

CHAPTER VIII

IBARRA AND THE GRAVE-DIGGER.

Just as the old man was leaving the cemetery, a carriage stopped at the

entrance. It looked as though it had made a long journey; the horses

were sweating and the vehicle was covered with dust. Ibarra stepped out

and was followed by an old servant. He made a gesture to the driver and

then turned down the path into the cemetery. He was silent and grave.

"My sickness and my work have not permitted me to return, since the

day of the funeral," said the old servant timidly. "Captain Tiago said

that he would see to it that a niche was arranged for, but I planted

some flowers on the grave and erected a cross made by my own hands."

Ibarra did not reply.

"Right there behind that large cross, senor," continued the servant,

making a gesture toward one of the corners just as they passed through

the gate.

Ibarra was so preoccupied with sad thoughts that he did not notice the

astonishment which some of the people in the cemetery manifested when

they saw him enter. Those who were kneeling broke off their prayers

and followed the young man, their eyes full of curiosity.

Ibarra walked along very carefully, and avoided stepping on the graves,

which could be easily distinguished by the sunken ground. In other

times he had walked over them; but to-day he respected them. His father

lay in one of them. On coming to the other side of the large cross,

he stopped and looked in all directions. His companion was confused

and out of countenance. He searched for marks on the ground but could

not find the cross anywhere.

"Is it here?" he murmured between his teeth. "No, it is over there,

but the earth has been removed."

Ibarra looked at him with an expression of anguish.

"Yes," he continued. "I remember that there was a stone by the side of

the grave. The grave was a little short, a farm hand had to dig it,

as the grave-digger was sick at the time, but we will ask him what

he has done with the cross."

They turned toward the grave-digger, who looked at them with

curiosity. He saluted them, taking off his hat.

"Can you tell us which of the graves over there is the one which had

a cross?" asked the servant.

The grave-digger looked toward the place and seemed to reflect. "A

large cross?"

"Yes, a large cross," answered the old man with joy, looking

significantly at Ibarra, whose face was somewhat animated.

"An ornamented cross, and fastened with reeds?" repeated the

grave-digger, questioning the servant.

"That's it, that's it, yes, yes! Like this, like this," and the

servant traced an outline of a Byzantine cross.

"And were there some flowers sown on the grave?"

"Adelphas, sampagas and pansies! That's it," added the servant,

delighted, and offering the grave-digger a cigar. "Tell us where the

grave is and where the cross."

The grave-digger scratched his ear and replied, yawning: "Well,

the cross-I have already burned it up."

"Burned it? and why have you burned it?"

"Because the head priest so ordered."

"Who is the head priest?" asked Ibarra.

"Who? The one who does the whipping."

Ibarra put his hand to his head.

"But you can at least tell us where the grave is? You ought to

remember."

The grave-digger smiled. "The body is no longer there," he replied

tranquilly.

"What do you say?"

"Yes, no longer," the man added in a joking tone. "Only a week ago

I buried a woman in its place."

"Are you crazy?" the servant asked. "Why, it is not yet a year since

we buried him."

"Then that is the one, for it was many months ago that I took up the

body. The head priest of the parish ordered me to do it, in order

to bury it in the Chinese cemetery. But as it was heavy and it was

raining that night-"

The man could not finish. He stepped back, half frightened at the

expression on Crisostomo's face. Ibarra made a rush at him, and,

grabbing him by the arm, shook him.

"And what did you do?" the young man asked, in an indescribable tone.

"Honored sir, do not get angry," he replied, pale and trembling. "I

did not bury the body among the Chinese. In my opinion a person might

better be a suicide than be buried among the Chinese. I threw the

body into the lake."

Ibarra laid both his hands on the man's shoulders and looked at him

for a long time in a terrifying manner. "You are only an unfortunate

fellow," he said, at last, and left the place on a run across bones,

graves, and crosses, like a madman.

The grave-digger felt of his arm and murmured: "What would they do

with the dead! The head priest whips me with his cane for having left

the body in the cemetery when I was sick. Now this fellow comes along

and nearly breaks my arm for having taken it up. That is just like

the Spaniards! I'll lose my place yet."

Ibarra went on in great haste, keeping his eyes fixed in the

distance. The old servant followed him, crying. Already the sun was

hidden; a large, dark cloud hung over the western horizon; and a dry

wind bent the tops of the trees and made the fields of sugar cane

groan. With hat in hand, he went on. Not one tear dropped from his

eye, not one sigh came from his breast. He hurried on as if he were

fleeing from somebody, or something-perhaps the shade of his father,

perhaps the tempest which was approaching. He hurried through the town

and headed toward the outlying country, toward that old house which

he had not entered for so many years. The house was surrounded by a

wall, near which many cacti grew, and as he approached they seemed to

signal to him. The windows seemed to open, the ilang-ilang joyfully

waved its branches, and the doves fluttered about the little tower

on the peak of their garden house.

But the young man did not notice these signs of welcome on his return

to his old home. His eyes were riveted on the form of a priest who

was advancing from the opposite direction. It was the priest of San

Diego, that meditative Franciscan, the enemy of the alferez whom we

have mentioned. The wind was playing with the wide wings of his hat,

and the robe of guingon was flattened out, moulded by the wind to

the outline of his form, marking his slender thighs and bow-legs. In

his right hand he carried a cane. It was the first time that he and

Ibarra had met.

As they approached each other, the young man stopped and looked

at him fixedly. Father Salvi avoided the look and was somewhat

distracted. This vacillation lasted only a moment. Ibarra made a rush

toward him, and stopped the priest from falling only by grasping his

shoulder. Then, in a voice scarcely intelligible, he exclaimed:

"What have you done with my father?"

Friar Salvi, pale and trembling, as he read the unmistakable sentiments

which were depicted on the young man's face, could not reply.

"What have you done with my father?" he asked again, his voice almost

choking him.

The priest, shrinking from the tight grasp of Ibarra's hand, at last

made a great effort and said: "You are mistaken. I have done nothing

with your father."

"What? No?" continued the young man, the weight of his hand on the

priest's shoulder almost making him kneel.

"No, I assure you. It was my predecessor. It was Father Damaso-"

"Ah!" exclaimed the young man, throwing the priest down and giving

him a slap in the face. And leaving Father Salvi, he turned quickly

and went toward the house.


	10. 09

CHAPTER IX

ADVENTURES OF A SCHOOL TEACHER.

Laguna de Bay, surrounded by mountains, sleeps tranquilly in the

stillness of the elements, as if it had not joined the chorus of

the tempest on the night before. As first rays of dawn appear in the

eastern sky and awaken the phosphorescent myriads in the water, long,

grey shadows appear in the dim distance, almost on the border of the

horizon. They are shadows of fishermen's boats at work drawing in

the nets.

Two men, dressed in deep mourning, from a lofty height contemplate

the scene in silence. One is Ibarra, and the other is a young,

meek-looking man with a melancholy countenance.

"Here is the place!" said the latter. "Here is where your father's

body was thrown into the water! The grave-digger brought Lieutenant

Guevara and me here and pointed out the spot."

Ibarra, with emotion, warmly grasped the young man's hand.

"You need not thank me!" replied the latter. "I owed your father for

many favors he did me. The only thing I could ever do for him was

to accompany his body to the grave. I had come to the town without

knowing anybody, without any recommendations, without a reputation,

without money, just as I am now. Your father protected me, procured a

house for me, helped secure whatever was needed to advance education;

he used to come to the school and distribute pennies among the poor

and diligent pupils; he provided them with books and papers. But that,

like all good things, did not last long."

Ibarra took off his hat and seemed to pray for a short time. Then

he turned to his companion and said: "Did you tell me that my father

used to help the poor children? How is it now?"

"Oh, now they do the best they can."

"And don't they come to school regularly?"

"No, for their shirts are ragged and they are ashamed."

Ibarra kept silent for a few moments.

"How many pupils have you now?" he asked, with a certain interest.

"There are more than two hundred on the register, but only twenty-five

in the class."

"How does that happen?"

The school teacher sadly smiled.

"It is a long and tedious story," said he.

"Don't think that I am asking out of vain curiosity," replied Ibarra,

looking seriously at the distant horizon. "I have been meditating a

great deal on the matter, and I believe that it is far better to try to

carry out the ideas of my father than to try to avenge him. His tomb

is sacred Nature; and his enemies were the people and the priest. I

can forgive the people for their ignorance, and as to the priest,

I will pardon his character because I wish to respect the religion

which he represents. I wish to be inspired with the spirit of the

one who gave me life, and, that I may lend my help, I wish to know

what are the obstacles here in the way of education."

"The country will bless your memory, Senor, if you can carry out

the beautiful and noble ideas of your dead father," said the school

teacher. "You wish to know what the obstacles are? Very well. We are

now in such circumstances that unless something powerful intervenes,

there will never be any education here. First, because there is no

incentive or stimulus to the children, and, secondly, even when there

is an incentive, lack of means and many prejudices kill it. They say

that the son of a German peasant studies eight years in the town

school. Who would want to spend half of that time in our schools,

when the benefits to be derived are so small? Here the children read,

and commit to memory verses and at times entire books in Spanish,

but all without understanding a single word. What good can the sons

of our farmers get out of the school so long as this is the case?"

"And you see the evil; have you not thought out a remedy?"

"Ah, poor me!" replied the teacher, shaking his head, "a poor

teacher cannot alone fight against prejudices, against existing

influences. Above all, I would need to have a school house, so that

I would not, as I do now, have to teach from the priest's carriage,

under the convent. There, when the children want to read aloud, they

naturally disturb the Father, who at times comes down and very nervous,

especially when he has his attacks, finds fault with the children and

insults me. You know very well that under such conditions no one can do

any teaching. The child does not respect the teacher from that moment

when he sees him mistreated by some one else without maintaining his

rights. The teacher, if he is to be listened to, or if his authority

is not to be doubted, needs prestige, a good name, moral strength, and

a certain amount of freedom. If you will allow me, I will give you an

illustration. I wished to introduce some reforms and they laughed at

me. In order to remedy the evil that I spoke of a moment ago, I tried

to teach the children Spanish, because, not only does the Government

order it, but because it will be a great advantage for them to know

the language. I employed the simplest method, used simple phrases

and nouns without making use of hard rules, with the expectation of

teaching them the grammar as soon as they had learned the language. At

the end of several weeks, almost all the smarter ones in the school

understood me and were able to compose phrases in Castellano."

The teacher stopped and seemed to be in doubt. Then, as if he had

made up his mind, he began again.

"I ought not to be ashamed of the history of my grievances. If any one

had been in my place, he would have had the same story to tell. As I

was saying, I began well. Several days later the priest, who was then

Father Damaso, sent the sacristan mayor to tell me that he wanted to

see me. As I knew his character and was afraid to make him wait for

me, I went up immediately, saluted him and said good morning to him in

Spanish. As was customary, when I saluted him, I advanced to kiss the

hand which he held out, but just at that moment he withdrew it and,

without replying to me, began to chuckle scoffingly. I was naturally

disconcerted, and it was all done in the presence of the sacristan

mayor. At the moment, I did not know what to say. I stood and looked

at him while he went on laughing. I had already become impatient

and saw that I was on the point of committing an indiscretion. All

of a sudden, he stopped laughing and added insult to injury. With a

cunning air, he said to me: 'So it is buenos dias, eh? buenos dias,

ha, ha! How funny! Why, you know how to speak Spanish, do you?' And

then he continued his laugh."

Ibarra could not keep back his smile.

"You laugh," replied the teacher, also smiling. "I confess that I did

not feel like smiling at that time. I felt the blood rush to my head,

and a thunderbolt seemed to dazzle my brain. I saw the priest far off,

very far from me. I started toward him to reply. The sacristan mayor

interposed and said very seriously, in Tagalog: 'You want to stop

wearing borrowed clothes. Be content to speak in your own language and

do not spoil Spanish, which is not meant for you. You have heard about

Ciruela? Well, Ciruela was a teacher who did not know how to read,

but he taught school.' I wanted to detain him for a moment, but he

went quickly into his room and closed the door violently. What was I

to do? In order to collect my salary I have to have the approval of

the priest on my bill, and have to make a journey to the capital of

the province. What could I do to him-the moral, political and civil

authority of the town, sustained by his corporation, feared by the

Government, rich, powerful, always consulting, advising, listening,

believing and attending to everything-what could I do to him? If

he insulted me, I had to keep my mouth closed. If I talked back,

he would throw me out of work, spoiling my career. And what good

would it do-education? On the contrary, everybody would take up the

priest's side of the matter; they would criticise me, they would call

me vain, proud, arrogant, a poor Christian, poorly educated, and when

not this, they would call me an anti-Spaniard and an agitator. The

school teacher should have no authority. He should only be lazy,

humble, and resigned to his low position. May God pardon me if I do not

speak conscientiously and truthfully, but I was born in this country,

I have to live, I have a mother to support and I have to be resigned

to my lot."

"And have you continued to be discouraged on account of this

trouble? Have you attempted nothing since?"

"Would to God that it had ended there!" he replied. "Would to God that

that had been the end of my misfortunes. The truth is that from that

day I began to take a dislike to my profession. Every day the school

brought to my mind my disgrace and made every hour a bitter one for

me. But what could I do? I could not disappoint my mother. I had to

tell her that the three years of sacrifices which she had made for me

in order that I might learn the profession now made me happy. I had

to make her believe that the profession was a most honorable one, that

the work was most pleasant, that the road was strewn with flowers and

that the fulfillment of my duty produced nothing but friendships. If

I had told her the contrary, I myself would still be as unhappy and

would only make another unhappy, which was not only useless but a

sin. So, I kept at my work and tried not to be discouraged. I tried

to fight it down."

The school teacher made a short pause and then began again.

"You know that the books in most of the schools are in Spanish,

excepting the Tagalog catechism, which varies according to the

corporation which appoints the priest of the parish. The books

generally used in the school are novenaries, the 'Doxology' and

Father Astete's catechism, which are no more edifying than the

books of heretics. On account of the fact that it was impossible to

teach the children Spanish, as I wanted to do, and owing to the fact

that I could not translate so many books into the native language,

I decided to try to substitute for them gradually, short verses,

extracts from the best Tagalog books, such as the 'Treatise on

Urbanity' by Hortensio y Feliza, and some of the little pamphlets on

agriculture. Sometimes I myself translated small works, such as the

'History of the Philippines,' by Father Barranera, and afterward

dictated to the pupils for their note books, adding at times some

of my own observations. As I had no maps to teach them geography,

I copied one of those of the province which I saw in the capital,

and with this reproduction and, by the aid of the tiles on the floor,

I was able to give them some ideas about the country. The new priest

sent for me. Although he did not reprimand me severely, he told me,

however, that my first duty was to teach religion, and that before I

began to teach any such things I must prove by an examination that all

the children knew by heart the 'Mysteries,' the 'Doxology,' and the

'Catechism of the Christian Doctrine.'

"So, in the meantime, I am endeavoring to convert the children into

parrots so that they will know by heart all of these things of which

they do not understand a single word. Many of the pupils already

know the 'Mysteries' and the 'Doxology,' but I fear that I am making

Father Astete's efforts useless, inasmuch as my pupils do not even

distinguish between the questions and the answers, or what either

of them signifies. Thus we shall die and thus shall do those who are

yet to be born; yet in Europe they talk about Progress!"

"Let us not be so pessimistic," replied Ibarra, rising to his

feet. "The teniente mayor has invited me to attend a town meeting to

be held in the tribunal. Who knows but that some plan for improvement

may there be adopted!"

The school teacher arose to go, shaking his head in token of doubt.


	11. 10

CHAPTER X

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS.

The people of the town have made their preparation for the festival in

honor of the patron saint, San Diego, and are gossiping about it, and

about the arrival of Maria Clara, accompanied by her aunt Isabel. They

rejoiced over it, because they liked her, and admired her beauty very

much. They also rejoiced in the change it had made in the priest,

Father Salvi. "He is often absent-minded during the holy services,"

they said. "He scarcely speaks with us, and he plainly grows more

thin and taciturn." His cook saw this constantly and complained of the

little honor that he did his dishes. But what most excited the wonder

of the people were the two lights which one could see shining in the

convent during the night, while Father Salvi was visiting at the house

of Maria Clara! The old dames crossed themselves and kept on gossiping.

Juan Crisostomo Ibarra had telegraphed from the capital of the province

his compliments to Aunt Isabel and her niece, but he had not explained

his absence. Many thought that he had been arrested for assaulting

Father Salvi on the afternoon of "All Saint's Day." But the comments

increased still more when, on the afternoon of the third day, they

saw Ibarra get out of a carriage in front of the little house of his

betrothed, and courteously salute the priest, who was also making

his way thither.

If we go to Maria Clara's house, we will find it like a little nest

among orange and ilang-ilang trees, surrounded by flowers and vines

which creep up on bamboo sticks and wires, diffusing their delicious

perfume. The rich fragrance of the ilang-ilang reaches even to

the window which looks out on the lake. Here sit the two young

lovers. Ibarra was saying to Maria Clara:

"To-morrow, before the first ray of morning, your desire shall be

fulfilled. To-night, I shall arrange all so that nothing will be

lacking."

"Then I will write to my friends, so that they may come along. Arrange

it so that the priest cannot come."

"And why?"

"Because he seems to be watching me. His deep and sombre eyes pain

me. When he fixes them upon me, they frighten me. He speaks to me of

extraordinary things, so incomprehensible, so strange. He asked me

once if I had not dreamed about my mother's letters. I believe he

is half crazy. My friend Sinang, and Andeng, my foster sister, say

that he is a little out of his head, for he neither eats nor bathes,

and he lives entirely in the darkness. Don't have him come!"

"We cannot but invite him," replied Ibarra. "The customs of the

country require it. He is the priest of your house and, besides, he has

conducted himself nobly toward me. When the Alcalde consulted him on

the business of which I have spoken to you, he had nothing but praises

for me and did not pretend to offer the slightest obstacle. But I see

that you are serious. I shall take care that he does not accompany

us in the boat."

Light steps were heard. They were those of the priest, who was

approaching with a forced smile on his lips. They began to talk of

different subjects, about the weather, the town and the festival. Maria

Clara devised an excuse and went out.

"And while we are speaking about festivals," said Ibarra, "allow me to

invite you to the one which we are going to celebrate to-morrow. It is

going to be a country picnic, which we and our friends are planning."

"And where will it be held?"

"The girls want to hold it near the brook in the woods, near the baliti

tree. So we will have to get up early to reach the place before the

sun gets hot."

The priest reflected, and a moment later replied: "The invitation

is very tempting, and I accept it in order to prove that I hold no

grudge against you for what has happened in the past. But I will have

to be a little late, as I must fulfill my religious duties first. How

happy to be like you, entirely free and independent!"

A few minutes later, Ibarra took his leave in order to arrange for

the picnic on the following day. It was already quite dark when he

left the house.


	12. 11

CHAPTER XI

THE FISHING PARTY.

The stars were still shining in the sapphire heavens, and the birds

were sleeping on the branches of the trees, when a jolly little party,

by the light from the pitch torches, wandered through the streets of

the town toward the lake.

Five young maidens, clinging to each other's hands or belts, tripped

along briskly. Behind them came several elderly women and a number

of servants gracefully carrying on their heads baskets filled with

provisions and various dishes for the picnic. On seeing their joyful

faces, with their youthful smiles, their beautiful black hair as it

floated in the breeze, and the wide folds of their pretty dresses,

you would have taken them for goddesses of the night and would have

thought that they were fleeing from day-if perchance you had not

already known that it was Maria Clara and her four friends: jolly

Sinang; her cousin, the serious Victoria; beautiful Iday; and the

pensive Neneng, pretty, modest and timid.

They were talking with animation; they laughed; pinched each other;

whispered in each other's ears and then burst out in shouts of

merriment.

"You girls will wake up everybody in town. Don't you know that people

are still asleep?" said Aunt Isabel, reprimanding them. "When we were

young, we didn't make such a noise."

"But you didn't get up as early as we do, nor were the old men such

great sleepers in your day," replied little Sinang.

They were quiet for a moment and were trying to talk in a low voice,

but they quickly forgot themselves and were again filling the streets

with their youthful laughter and melodious voices.

Several young fellows were coming down the street, lighting their way

with large bamboo torches. They were marching along almost noiselessly

to the tune of a guitar.

"That guitar sounds as though some beggar were playing it," said

Sinang, laughing. But when the young fellows caught up with the rest of

the party, the girls suddenly became as quiet and as serious as though

they never had learned how to laugh. The young men, however, chatted

away, saluted the ladies, laughed and smiled and asked half a dozen

questions without giving the girls time to answer any one of them.

The two large bancas, [7] which had been secured to transport the

picnic party to the fishing grounds, were fastened together and

picturesquely adorned with wreaths and garlands of flowers and a

large number of vari-colored candles. Paper lanterns hung from the

improvised covering of the bancas. Alternately with these were roses,

pinks and baskets of fruits such as pineapples, kasuys, bananas,

guayabas and lanzones. Ibarra had brought his carpets, blankets and

rugs and arranged comfortable seats for the ladies. The poles and

paddles used to propel the bancas had also been ornamented. In the

better banca were a harp, guitars, accordeons, and a buffalo horn;

while, in the other boat, a little fire had been lighted in an

improvised stove in order that tea, coffee and salabat [8] might be

prepared for the light breakfast.

"The women sit here; the men, there," said the mothers on stepping

into the banca. "Sit still and don't move, or we will be capsized."

"Cross yourselves before we start," said Aunt Isabel, as she traced

the form of a cross on her breast.

"And are we to be here all by ourselves," asked Sinang, on seeing how

the girls had been separated from the young men, by the assignment

of the seats. Then making a grimace she asked again, "Are we going

to be all alone? Aray!"

This aray was caused by a little pinch which her mother had given

her on the arm in the way of a reprimand for her complaint.

The bancas were now putting off slowly from the shore. The light

from the torches and Japanese lanterns was reflected in the water,

for the lake was as smooth as a mirror. In the far eastern horizon

could be seen the first rosy tints of the approaching dawn.

Everything was very quiet. The young women, in consequence of the

separation from the young men, seemed to be absorbed in meditation.

As the water was smooth as glass and the bamboo weirs where the fish

were to be found were not far off, and, it was still early, it was

decided that all should stop paddling and take breakfast. The lights

were put out, for the day had dawned and preparations were made for

desayuno. [9]

The entire party became jolly as they breathed in the light breeze

that had come up. Even the women, so full of presentiments a few

moments ago, were now laughing and joking among themselves.

One young man alone of all the party remained silent. He was the pilot,

an athletic-looking fellow, and interesting on account of his large,

sad eyes and the severe lines of his lips. His long, black hair fell

gracefully over his powerful neck. He wore a shirt of coarse dark

cloth, through which his powerful muscles could be plainly seen as he

manipulated with his strong arms the wide, heavy paddle as if it were

only a pen. This paddle served both to propel and to steer the bancas.

More than once he was embarrassed when he caught Maria Clara looking at

him. Then he would turn his eyes quickly to some other direction and

look far off toward the mountain, or the shore of the lake. The young

maiden pitied him in his solitude and offered him some biscuits. The

pilot looked at her with surprise, but only for a moment. He took

the biscuits, thanked her very briefly and in a voice scarcely audible.

No one else took any notice of him. The happy laughter and jolly

conversation of the young men did not cause him to relax a single

muscle of his face. Not even Sinang, with all her jollity, had any

effect on him.

"Wait a minute!" said Aunt Isabel to the boatman's son, who had made

ready his net and was just about to go up on the baklad to take out

the fish from the little enclosure at the end of the weir. "We must

have everything ready, so that the fish may pass directly from the

water to the pot."

Andeng, the pretty foster sister of Maria Clara, despite her clear

complexion and laughing face, had the reputation of being a good

cook. She prepared the rice, tomatoes, and camias, [10] while some

of the young men tried to aid or bother her, perhaps in order to win

her good will. The other girls were busy cleaning and making ready

the lettuce, cabbage and peas, and cutting up paayap in pieces about

the size of a cigarette.

Finally Andeng announced that the kettle was ready to receive its

guests-the fish.

The fisherman's son went up on top of the rack at the end of the

weir. He took a position at the narrow entrance, over which might have

been written: "All who enter here leave hope behind," if indeed the

unfortunate fish would know how to read and understand it, for a fish

who enters never gets out except to die. The rack is almost circular in

form and about a meter in diameter, and is so arranged that a man can

stand on top of one end of it and thus take out the fish with his net.

"There, it wouldn't tire me a bit to fish that way," said Sinang,

quite joyful.

All were watching attentively. Already some of them in their vivid

imaginations thought they could see the fish wiggling their tails

and trying to get out of the little net, their scales shining in the

bright sun. However, the young man failed to catch a single fish in

his first attempt.

"It ought to be full of fish," said Albino, in a low voice. "It is

more than five days since we visited the place last."

The fisherman drew out his net a second time, but not a fish was there

in it. The water, as it trickled through the meshes of the net in

countless drops which reflected the rays of the sun, seemed to laugh

in silvery tones. An "Ah" of surprise, disgust, and disappointment

escaped from the lips of all.

The young fellow repeated the same operation, but with a similar

result.

"You don't understand your business!" said Albino to him as he stepped

up on the rack and took the net from the hands of the youngster. "Now

you will see! Andeng, open up the kettle!"

But Albino did not understand his business, either. The net came up

empty as before. All began to laugh.

"Don't make any noise," he said, "or the fish will hear it and will

keep from being caught. This net must have a hole in it somewhere."

But every mesh in the net was perfect.

"Let me take it!" said Leon, Iday's lover, to Albino.

Leon first made sure that the enclosure was in good condition and

then examined the net carefully and satisfied himself that there was

nothing wrong with it. He then asked: "Are you sure that no one has

been out here for five days?"

"We are sure! The last time any one was out here was on All Saints'

Day."

"Well, then, I am going to bring out something this time, unless the

lake is bewitched."

Leon lowered the net by its bamboo handle into the water, but a look

of surprise was painted on his face. In silence he looked toward the

neighboring mountain and continued moving the handle of the net from

one side to the other. Finally, without taking the net out of the

water, he murmured in a low voice: "An alligator."

"An alligator!" exclaimed half a dozen voices, and the word was

repeated again while all stood frightened and stupefied.

"What did you say?" they asked.

"I say that there is an alligator caught in the rack," said Leon,

and sticking the handle of the net into the water again he continued:

"Do you hear that sound? That is not sand, it is hard skin, the back

of the alligator. Do you see how he wiggles the bamboo pickets in

the rack? He is struggling hard but he cannot do anything. Wait. He

is a large fellow; his body measures a palm or more in width."

"What shall be done?" was the question.

"Catch him," said one.

"Jesus! And who will catch him?"

Nobody offered to dive down to the bottom of the rack. The water was

very deep.

"We ought to tie him to our banca and drag him along in triumph,"

said Sinang. "The idea of his eating the fish which we ought to have!"

"I have never seen to this day a live alligator," said Maria Clara.

The pilot rose to his feet, took a long rope and went up cautiously to

the platform on the top of the rack. Leon gave up his position to him.

With the exception of Maria Clara, none up till now had paid any

attention to him. Now every one was admiring his fine stature.

To the great surprise of all and in spite of all their cries, the

pilot leaped into the enclosure.

"Take this knife!" shouted Crisostomo, drawing out a wide-bladed

Toledo knife.

But already a thousand little bubbles were rising to the surface of

the water, and all that was going on in the depths below was wrapped

in mystery.

"Jesus, Maria y Jose!" exclaimed the women. "We are going to have a

misfortune. Jesus, Maria y Jose!"

"Don't be alarmed, senoras," said the old boatman. "If there is any

one in this province who can do it, it is that fellow who has just

gone down."

"What is his name?" they asked.

"We call him 'The Pilot'; he is the best I have ever seen, only he

does not like his profession."

The water was being stirred violently, and it seemed that a fierce

fight was being waged in the depths of the lake. The sides of the

enclosure swayed to and fro, while the water seemed to be swirled by

a dozen currents. All held their breath. Ibarra grasped tightly the

handle of his sharp knife.

The fight seemed to be at an end. The head of the young man rose to

the surface of the water, and the sight was greeted by joyful shouts

from all. The eyes of the women were full of tears.

The pilot crawled up on the platform carrying in his hand the end of

the rope, and as soon as he was able pulled on it.

The monster appeared on top of the water. He had the rope tied twice

around his neck, and once behind his forelegs. He was a large fellow,

as Leon had already announced. He was beautifully colored and green

moss was growing on his back. He bellowed like an ox, struck his tail

against the sides of the enclosure, snapped at them, and opened his

black, frightful-looking mouth, showing his long teeth.

The pilot, unassisted, raised him up out of the water. No one offered

to help him. Just as soon as the animal was out of the water and

placed on the platform, the pilot put his foot on his back. Then,

closing the animal's massive jaws, he tried to tie his big snout tight

with the rope. The reptile made a last effort, doubled up his body,

struck the floor of the platform with his powerful tail and, breaking

loose, made a leap into the water of the lake, on the other side of

the weir, at the same time dragging with him his captor. It seemed

that the pilot would be a dead man. A cry of horror went up from all.

Like a flash of lightning, another body leaped into the water. So

quickly was it done that they had scarcely time to see that it was

Ibarra. Maria Clara did not faint, simply because the Filipinos do

not know how to faint.

They all saw the water become colored, and tinged with blood. The

young fisherman leaped to the bottom with his bolo in his hand; his

father followed him. But, scarcely had they disappeared, when they

saw Crisostomo and the pilot reappear, clinging to the body of the

reptile. The monster's white belly was slashed, while in his throat

the knife still stuck like a nail.

It is impossible to describe the joy that came over the party at

the sight; all arms were extended to help them out of the water. The

old women were half crazed with joy, and laughed and prayed. Andeng

forgot that her kettle had been boiling three different times; now

it was leaking and had put out the fire. The only one who could not

speak was Maria Clara.

Ibarra was unhurt. The pilot had a slight scratch on his arm.

"I owe you my life!" said he to Ibarra as the latter wrapped himself

up in the shawls and blankets. The voice of the pilot had a ring

of sincerity.

"You are too bold," replied Ibarra. "Another time you must not

tempt God."

"If you had never come back!" exclaimed Maria, pale and trembling.

"If I had never come back and you had followed after me," replied

the young man, "I would have been with all my family in the bottom of

the lake." Ibarra was thinking that in those depths lay the remains

of his father.

The mothers of the girls did not want to go to the other baklad

or weir. They preferred to go back home happy, for the day had

commenced with a bad omen and they feared that they would suffer

many misfortunes.

"It is all because we have not heard mass," sighed one of them.

"But what misfortune have we had, senoras?" asked Ibarra. "The

alligator was the unfortunate one."

"That goes to show," concluded Albino, "that, in all his fishing life,

this reptile has never heard mass. I never saw him, I am sure, among

the other reptiles who frequent the church."

The bancas were turned toward the other fish rack, and it was necessary

for Andeng to get the water boiling again.

The day was advancing; a breeze was blowing; little waves were stirred

up on the water, and rippled around the alligator. The music began

again. Iday was playing the harp, while the young men were playing

the accordeons and guitars with more or less skill. But the one who

played best was Albino.

The other weir was visited with an entire lack of confidence. Many

of the party expected to find there the mate to the alligator, but

Nature fooled them and every time that the net was lowered it was

brought up full of fish.

They then headed for the shore of the lake, where is situated the

forest of trees centuries old, owned by Ibarra. There in the shade

and near the crystal brook the party were to take their breakfast

among the flowers or under improvised tents.


	13. 12

CHAPTER XII

IN THE WOODS.

Very early that morning Father Salvi had said mass, cleaning, according

to his custom, a dozen dirty souls in a few minutes. The reading of a

few letters, which had arrived well sealed with wax, seemed to cause

the worthy curate to lose his appetite, for he allowed his chocolate

to get cold.

"The Father is ill," said the cook as he prepared another cup. "It

is several days since he has eaten anything; of six dishes which I

put on the table for him, he has not touched two."

"It must be that he does not sleep well," replied the servant. "He

has nightmare since he changed his bedroom. Every day his eyes are

sinking deeper, he grows gradually thinner, and is very yellow."

As a matter of fact, it was a pitiful sight to behold Father Salvi. He

did not care to touch his second cup of chocolate, nor to taste the

Cebu cakes. He walked pensively to and fro in the spacious sala,

crumpling between his bony fingers some letters which he would read

from time to time. Finally, he called for his carriage, got ready

and ordered the coachman to take him to the woods where the picnic

was to be held. Arriving at the place, Father Salvi dismissed the

carriage and all alone, entered the forest.

A shady but difficult path runs through the thicket and leads to the

brook which is formed by the hot springs so plentiful at the base of

Mount Makiling.

For some time, Father Salvi was wandering among the thick underbrush,

here trying to evade the thorns which entangled his habit of guingon

as if to detain him; there trying to step over the roots of the trees

which stuck up through the ground and made the inexperienced traveler

stumble again and again. Suddenly he stopped. Mirthful laughter and the

sound of young voices reached his ears. The voices and the laughter

seemed to come from the direction of the brook and each time seemed

to be coming nearer.

"I am going to see if I can find a heron's nest," said a voice,

beautiful and sweet, and at once recognized by the curate. "You know

they say that if a person possesses one of those nests he can make

himself invisible to everybody. How I would like to see him and not

have him see me! I could follow him everywhere."

Father Salvi hid behind the thick trunk of an old tree and listened.

"That is to say, you want to do with him what the curate does with

you: watch him everywhere?" replied the merry voice. "Be careful,

for jealousy makes one grow thin and the eyes sink in."

"No, no. It is not jealousy, it is pure curiosity," replied the silvery

voice, while the other repeated, "yes, yes, jealousy; that's what it

is." And then she broke out in a merry chuckle.

"If I were jealous of him I would not use the heron's nest to make

myself invisible to him, but would make him invisible to everybody

else."

"But then you yourself would not be able to see him and you would

not want that to happen. The best thing to do, if we find a heron's

nest is to give it to the priest. Then he could watch us as much as

he pleased, and we would not be troubled with the sight of him. What

do you think of the idea?"

"But I don't believe in the story about the heron's nests, anyway,"

replied one. "But if I were really jealous I would know how to keep

watch of a person and make myself invisible..."

"And how? How would you do it? Perhaps you would do as Sister Listener

does in the convent?"

This reference to days passed in the convent provoked a jolly laugh

all around.

Father Salvi saw from his hiding-place Maria Clara, Victoria, and

Sinang, wading in the stream. All three were looking into the water,

which was like a mirror, in search of the heron's nest. They were

getting wet up to their knees, the wide folds of their bathing skirts

allowing one to guess how graceful were the curves of their limbs. They

were wearing their hair loose and their arms were bare. Striped,

bright-colored bodices covered their breasts. The three lasses, at

the same time that they were hunting for that which did not exist,

collected flowers and plants which were growing on the banks of

the stream.

The religious Acteon, pale and immovable, stood gazing upon Maria

Clara, that chaste Diana. The eyes which shone in those dark orbits

never tired of admiring those white and beautiful arms, that pretty,

round neck, those tiny and rosy feet as they played in the water. As

he contemplated all this, strange feelings were awakened in his breast,

new dreams took possession of his burning mind.

The three pretty forms disappeared in a thick growth of bamboo behind

a bend in the stream, but their cruel allusions could still be heard by

the curate. Intoxicated with the strange ideas in his head, staggering,

and covered with perspiration, Father Salvi left his hiding-place

and looked about him in all directions with staring eyes. He stood

immovable, in doubt. He took a few steps as if to follow the young

women, but he turned about, and walked along the bank of the stream

in order to find the rest of the picnic party.

Some distance ahead, in the middle of the stream, he could see a

bathing place well enclosed by bamboo. He could hear, merry laughter

and feminine accents coming from that direction. Still further down the

stream he could see a bamboo bridge and some men in bathing. In the

meantime, a multitude of servants were bustling about the improvised

fireplaces, some engaged in plucking chickens, others in washing

rice and roasting pig. And there on the opposite bank, in a clearing

which had been made, were a number of men and women under a tent. The

tent had been made by hanging canvas from the limbs of some of the

old trees and by erecting a few poles. There in the group was the

alferez, the teniente mayor, the coadjutor, the gobernadorcillo,

the school teacher, a number, of past captains and lieutenants,

including even Captain Basilio, who was Sinang's father, and the

former rival of the deceased Don Rafael. Ibarra had said to him:

"The mere fact that we are parties to a law-suit does not mean that

we have to be enemies." So it was that the celebrated orator of the

conservative party had accepted the invitation to the picnic with

enthusiasm, and had even brought along three turkeys and put his

servants at the disposition of the young man.

The parish priest was received with respect and deference by all,

even by the alferez.

"But where did Your Reverence come from?" some one asked on seeing

his face full of scratches, and his habit covered with leaves and

pieces of dried branches. "Has Your Reverence fallen down?"

"No, I lost my way," replied Father Salvi, looking down and examining

his clothes.

Bottles of lemonade were opened, green cocoanuts were cut in two so

that those who were coming out of the bath might have the refreshing

milk to drink and the delicate meat to eat. The young women in addition

received rosaries of sampagas interwoven with roses and ilang-ilang,

which gave a beautiful fragrance to their loose hair. Some were

sitting or lying in hammocks which had been hung from the branches

of the trees; others were entertaining themselves in a game that

was going on around a large, flat stone. Playing cards, checkers,

dice and many other games were in progress.

They showed the alligator to the curate, but he seemed absorbed and

paid no attention until they mentioned the fact that the wide wound

in the animal's neck had been made by Ibarra. Then, too, the pilot,

the principal figure in the incident, had disappeared and could not

be found anywhere.

Finally Maria Clara came out of the bath, accompanied by her friends,

fresh as a rose when first it blooms, and when the dew on its divine

petals glistens like diamonds. Her first smile was for Ibarra; and

her first frown for Father Salvi. The latter noticed this, but he

did not even sigh.

It was now time to eat. The curate, the coadjutor, the alferez, the

gobernadorcillo, and some of the captains, together with the tenente

mayor sat down at the table over which Ibarra presided. The mothers of

the girls did not allow any one to eat at the table with their charges.

"Do you know anything yet, Senor Alferez, about the criminal who

assaulted Father Damaso?" asked Father Salvi.

"About what criminal, Father?" asked the alferez, looking at the

parish priest through his empty wine glass.

"About whom could it be? About the one who, day before yesterday,

struck Father Damaso, of course."

"Struck Father Damaso?" asked a number of voices.

The coadjutor was seen to smile.

"Yes; and Father Damaso is now in bed. It is believed that the culprit

was that same Elias who once threw you into a mud-hole, Senor Alferez."

The alferez colored up a little, either from shame or too much wine.

"I thought that you were interested in the affair," continued Father

Salvi, with a little jeering in his manner.

The alferez bit his lips and mumbled out a silly excuse.

The meal ended and, while tea and coffee were being served, the young

and old distributed themselves about in various groups. Some picked

up playing cards and others dice, but the young women, anxious to

know the future, preferred to try their luck with the wheel of fortune.

"Come, Senor Ibarra," shouted Captain Basilio, who was a little bit

jolly. "We have a law-suit that has been pending for fifteen years,

and there isn't a judge in the Supreme Court in Manila who can

decide it. Let us see if we can settle it on the chess board. What

do you say?"

The game of chess began with much solemnity.

"If the game is a draw," said Ibarra, "it is understood that the suit

is off."

About the middle of the game, Ibarra received a telegram which made

his eyes glisten and his face grow pale. He put it in his pocket-book,

not, however, without directing a glance at the group of young women

who continued with much laughter to play the wheel of fortune.

"Check to the king!" said the young man.

Captain Basilio had no other resort than to hide him behind the queen.

"Check to the queen!" said Ibarra, threatening it with his rook,

which was defended by a pawn.

Not being able to cover the queen, nor to retire it on account of the

fact that the king was behind it, Captain Basilio asked permission

to study the situation a little.

"Certainly, with much pleasure," replied Ibarra. "I will take advantage

of the opportunity, for I have something to say to some of the members

of that group over there."

And rising to his feet, he gave his opponent half an hour to study

it out.

Iday held in her hands the strip of cardboard on which was written

forty-eight questions, while Albino held the book which contained

the answers.

"That's a lie! It's not so! It lies!" cried Sinang, half in tears.

"What is the matter with you?" asked Maria Clara.

"Just imagine it: I asked the question 'When will I have some

sense?' I threw the dice and he, this all-night-watching priest

(Albino, the ex-seminary student) reads from the book: 'When the

frogs grow hairs.' What do you think of that?"

And Sinang made a face at the former religious student, who was still

laughing heartily.

"Who told you to ask such a question?" said her cousin Victoria. "Any

one who asks such a question deserves just such an answer."

"You ask a question!" said they all to Ibarra. "We have agreed that

the one who receives the best answer shall receive a gift from the

others. We have all asked our questions already."

"And who has received the best answer?"

"Maria Clara, Maria Clara!" replied Sinang. "We made her ask the

question whether you loved her or not: 'Is your lover faithful and

constant,' and the book replied-"

But Maria Clara colored up, and, putting her hands over Sinang's mouth,

did not allow her to finish what she had to say.

"Then, let me try it," said Crisostomo, smiling.

He asked the question: "Will I succeed in my present undertaking?"

"You are going to get a bad answer," exclaimed Sinang.

Ibarra threw the dice, and noting the number, they looked for the

page in the little book with the corresponding answer.

"Dreams are only dreams," read Albino.

Ibarra took out his pocket-book and opened it trembling.

"This time your book has lied," he said, full of joy. "Read this!"

"Plan for school house approved; other matter decided in your favor."

"What does that mean?" they all asked.

"Did you not tell me that the one who received the best answer was to

get a present?" the young man asked, his voice trembling with emotion

while he carefully divided the paper into two parts.

"Yes, yes!"

"Well, then! This is my gift," he said handing half of the telegram

to Maria Clara. "I am going to have a school house for boys and girls

erected in the town. This school house will be my gift."

"And this other piece: what does that mean?"

"I will give that to the one who has obtained the worst answer."

"Then that is for me!" exclaimed Sinang.

Ibarra gave her the piece of paper and quickly went off.

"And what does this mean?"

But the happy young man was already far away from the little group

and he did not reply. He had gone to finish the game of chess.

After making the present to his betrothed, Ibarra was so happy that he

began to play without stopping to think or even examining carefully

the position of the chess. As a result, although Captain Basilio had

defended himself only by the greatest effort, the young man made so

many mistakes that the game resulted in a draw.

"We end the suit, we end the suit!" said Captain Basilio, happy over

his success.

"Yes, we declare it off," repeated the young man, "whatever decision

the judges may have been able to reach."

Each grasped the hand of the other and shook it with effusion.

In the meantime, while those present were celebrating the ending of

the law-suit, of which both had long been tired, four Civil Guards

and a sergeant suddenly arrived on the scene. They were all armed

and had their bayonets fixed, a fact which naturally disturbed the

merriment and brought fright into the circle of women.

"Let everybody be quiet!" cried the sergeant. "Whoever moves will

be shot!"

In spite of this gruff boast, Ibarra rose to his feet and approached

the sergeant.

"What do you wish?" he asked.

"That you give up at once the criminal named Elias who acted as pilot

for your party this morning," he replied, in a threatening tone.

"A criminal? The pilot? You must be mistaken!" replied Ibarra.

"No, sir; that Elias is now accused of another crime, of having laid

his hands on a priest-"

"Ah! And is the pilot the one?"

"He is the same one, so we are told. You are allowing people of bad

reputation to attend your festivals, Senor Ibarra."

Ibarra looked at him from head to foot and replied with supreme

contempt: "I don't have to account to you for my actions. At our

festivals everybody is well received, and you yourself, if you had

come, would have been given a seat at the table, the same as the

alferez who was here among us two hours ago."

Saying this, Ibarra turned his back to him. The sergeant bit his

mustache and ordered his men to search everywhere among the trees

for the pilot, whose description he had on a piece of paper.

Don Filipo said to him: "Take note that this description corresponds

to that of nine-tenths of the natives. Take care that you do not make

a mistake!"

At last the soldiers returned, saying that they had not been able to

discover either a banca, or a man that aroused their suspicion. The

sergeant murmured a few indistinct words and then marched off.

Soon the people became jolly again, but questions, wonder and comments

were without end.

So the afternoon passed and the hour for departure arrived. Just as

the sun was dropping below the horizon they left the woods. The trees

seemed sad and all the surroundings seemed to bid them farewell and

say: "Good-bye, happy youth; good-bye, dream of a day."

And a little later, by the light of glowing torches of bamboo and

with the music of guitars, we leave them on the road toward the town.


	14. 13

CHAPTER XIII

IN THE HOUSE OF TASIO.

On the morning of the following day, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, after

visiting his estates, went to the house of Tasio, the philosopher,

his father's friend.

Quiet reigned in the old man's garden. The swallows were flying about

the gables of the house, but they were making scarcely a sound. The

windows were covered with vines which clung to the old, moss-covered

wall and made the house appear all the more solitary and quiet. Ibarra

tied his horse to a post and, walking almost on tip-toes, crossed the

clean and well-cultivated garden. He went up the stairs and, as the

door was open, walked in. An old man leaned over a book in which he

seemed to be writing. On the walls of the room were collections of

insects and leaves, maps, and some shelves of books and manuscripts.

Tasio was so absorbed in his work that he did not notice the arrival

of the youth. The latter, not wishing to disturb the philosopher,

tried to retire from the place, but the old man, looking up, said:

"What? Are you here?" and showed no little surprise in his look.

"Excuse me," replied Ibarra, "I see that you are very busy."

"As a matter of fact I was writing a little, but it is not urgent,

and I want to rest myself. Can I be useful to you in any way?"

Ibarra drew some papers from his pocket-book and replied: "My

father was wont to consult you in many things, and I remember that

he never had to do other than congratulate himself when he followed

your advice. I have on my hands a small undertaking and I want to be

assured of success."

Ibarra then related to him briefly his plan for the erection of

a school house in honor of his betrothed. He showed the stupefied

philosopher the plans which had been returned from Manila.

"I wish that you would advise me as to what persons I ought first to

have on my side in order to make the undertaking most successful. You

are well acquainted with the inhabitants of the town. I have just

arrived here and am almost a stranger in my country."

The old man examined the plans which were laid out before him. His

eyes were full of tears.

"That which you are going to carry out was a dream of mine, the dream

of a poor fool," he exclaimed, greatly moved. "And now, my first advice

to you is that you never come to consult me in regard to the matter."

The young man looked at him in surprise.

"Because sensible people," he continued, in an ironical tone, "will

take you for a fool, like myself. People always consider every one

a fool who does not think just as they do and, for this reason,

they call me crazy. But I am obliged to them for that, for woe be

to me when the time arrives that they say I have sense! That day,

should it ever come, would deprive me of the little liberty which I

have purchased by sacrificing my reputation for being sane."

And the old man shook his head, as if to drive away a thought and

continued: "My second advice to you is that you consult the curate,

the gobernadorcillo, and all the people of good standing. They will all

give you bad, foolish and useless advice, but to consult does not mean

to obey. Try to appear to be following their advice as far as possible

and make them think you are working according to their wishes."

Ibarra sat thinking for a moment and then replied: "The advice is good

but difficult to follow. Could I not carry out my work without a shadow

reflecting upon it? Could I not carry out the good work in spite of

all? Does truth need to be clothed in the garments of falsehood?"

"That's it. Nobody likes the bare truth."

"I hope to be able to realize all my hopes without encountering great

resistance," said Ibarra.

"Yes, if the priests lend you their hand; no, if they draw it away. All

your efforts will be battered to pieces against the walls of the

curate's house. The alcalde will deny to you to-morrow what he has

granted you to-day. Not a mother will let her son attend the school,

and then all your efforts will have just an opposite effect to that

intended. You will discourage all others who might wish to attempt

beneficent undertakings."

"Nevertheless," replied Ibarra, "I cannot believe in this power of

which you speak. And even supposing it to be true, admitting that it

is as you say, would I not still have on my side the sensible people

and the Government?"

"The Government! The Government!" exclaimed the philosopher, raising

his eyes and looking at the ceiling. "However much the Government

may desire to uplift the country for its own benefit and that of

the mother country; however generous may be the Catholic Kings in

spirit, I must remind you in confidence that there is another power

which does not allow the Government to see, hear, or judge except

what the curates or provincial priests wish. The Government is

afraid of the advancement of the people, and the people are afraid

of the forces of the Government. So long as the Government does

not understand the people of the country, the country will never

get out from this guardianship. The people will live like weak,

young children who tremble at the sound of the voice of their tutor,

whose mercy they beg. The Government has no dreams of a great future,

a healthy development of the country. The people do not complain,

because they have no voice. They do not move, because they are too

carefully watched. You say that they do not suffer, because you have

not seen what would make your heart bleed. But some day you will see

it! alas! some day you will hear it. When the light of day is thrown on

their monstrous forms, you will see a frightful reaction. That great

force, held back for centuries, that poison, distilled drop by drop,

those sighs, so long repressed-all will come to light and will some

day burst forth... Who will then pay the accounts which the people

will present and which History preserves for us on its bloody pages?"

"God, the Government, and the Church will never allow that day to

come!" replied Crisostomo, impressed in spite of himself. "The

Filipinos are religious and they love Spain. The Filipinos will

always know how much this nation has done for them. There are abuses;

yes! There are defects; I do not deny it. But Spain is working to

introduce reforms which will correct them; she is devising plans;

she is not selfish. Can it be that my love for my native land is

incompatible with love for Spain? Is it necessary to lower one's self

to be a good Christian, to prostitute one's own conscience to bring

about good? I love my fatherland, the Philippines, because I owe

to her my life and my happiness-because every man should love his

native land. I love Spain, the fatherland of my ancestors, because,

in spite of all that may be said, the Philippines owe to Spain,

and always will owe to her, their happiness and their future. I am a

Catholic. I hold dear the belief of my fathers, and I do not see why

I have to bow my head when I am able to raise it; nor why I have to

entrust it to my enemies, when I can trample on them."

"Because the field in which you are sowing your seed is in the hands

of your enemies, and you are weak in comparison to them... It is

necessary that you first kiss the hand-"

But the young man did not allow him to go farther and exclaimed

violently: "To kiss their hands! You forget that, between them, they

killed my father; they threw his body out of its sepulchre: but I,

I who am his son, I do not forget it, and, if I do not avenge myself,

it is because I consider the prestige of the Church."

The old philosopher bowed his head. "Senor Ibarra," he replied slowly,

"if you keep those memories-memories which I cannot advise you to

forget-if you keep those memories, give up your plans and your

undertaking and try to work good for your countrymen in another

way. The undertaking needs another man than you for its execution,

because to carry it out will not only require money and care, but,

in our country, self-denial, tenacity and faith are also needed. The

land is not ready for it; it has been sown only with darnel."

Ibarra understood the weight of these words, but he was not going

to be discouraged. Thoughts of Maria Clara filled his mind; he must

fulfill his promise to her.

"Does not your experience suggest something other than this hard

method?" he asked in a low voice.

The old man took him by the arm and led him to the window. A cool

breeze was blowing from the north. Before his eyes lay the garden,

stretching out to the large forest which served as a park.

"Why do we not have to do the same as that weak young bush loaded

with roses and buds?" said the philosopher pointing to a beautiful

rose bush. "The wind blows, shakes it and it bends itself down as if

trying to hide its precious load. If the bush kept itself erect, it

would be broken off, the wind would scatter its flowers and the buds

would be blighted. The wind passes over, and the bush straightens

itself up again, proud of its treasure. Thus it would be with you,

a plant transplanted from Europe to this stony ground, if you did not

look about for some support and belittle yourself. Alone and lofty,

you are in bad condition."

"And would this sacrifice bring the fruits that I hope for?" asked

Ibarra. "Would the priest have faith in me and would he forget the

offense? Would his kind not be able to feign friendship, to make a

false show of protecting me, and then, from behind in the darkness,

fight me, harass me and wound my heels, thus making me waver more

quickly than they could by attacking me face to face? Given these

premises, what do you think could be expected?"

The old man remained silent for some time, not being able to reply. At

last he said: "If such a thing took place, if the undertaking failed,

I would console you with the thought that you had done all that was

in your power. And even so, something would be gained. Lay the first

stone, sow the first seed and after the tempest has passed over,

some little grain perhaps would germinate."

"I believe you," exclaimed Ibarra, stretching out his hand. "Not in

vain did I look for good advice. This very day I shall go and make

friends with the curate."

Taking leave of the old man, he mounted on his horse and rode away.

"Attention!" murmured the pessimistic philosopher to himself, as he

followed the young man with his eyes. "Let us observe carefully how

Destiny will unfold the tragedy which began in the cemetery."

But this time the philosopher was truly mistaken. The tragedy had

begun long before.


	15. 14

CHAPTER XIV

THE EVE OF THE FIESTA.

It is the tenth of November, the eve of the fiesta to be celebrated

in the town of San Diego. Departing from its habitual monotony,

the town is displaying extraordinary activity in the church, houses,

streets, cock-pit, and the fields. Windows are draped with flags and

many-colored decorations. Music and the sound of exploding fireworks

fill the air. Everywhere there is rejoicing.

In the streets at fixed intervals, beautiful arches of bamboo are

raised, the wood carved and worked in a thousand different ways. The

arches are surrounded with ornaments, the very sight of which brings

joy to the heart of the small boy. In the church yard, a large and

costly awning has been erected. It is propped up by bamboo poles and

so arranged that the procession may pass under it. Under its shade the

children play, run, jump, fall and otherwise manage to tear and soil

their new shirts, which have been intended for the day of the festival.

In the public square a platform has been built of bamboo, nipa and

boards, to serve as the stage. It is here that the comedy company from

Tondo will tell wonderful tales, and will compete with the gods in the

performance of miracles. Here Marianito, Chananay, Balbino, Ratia,

Carvajal, Yeyeng, Liceria and the others will sing and dance. The

Filipino loves the theatre, and always attends dramatic productions

with a great deal of pleasure. The gobernadorcillo was very fond of

the theatre, and, with the advice of the curate, he had selected for

the fiesta the fantastic comedy: "Prince Villardo, or the Nails Pulled

Out of the Infamous Cave," a play full of magic and fireworks.

From time to time the bells ring out their merry sounds. Firecrackers

and the booming of little cannon rend the air. The Filipino

pyrotechnist, who has learned his art without a teacher of any renown,

displays his skill, setting up pieces representing towers, castles,

and the like. Already the small boys are running at break-neck speed

toward the outskirts of the town to meet the bands of music. Five

organizations have been hired, besides three orchestras.

A band enters the town playing lively marches, and is followed by

a lot of ragged and half naked pickaninnies: this one, perhaps, has

on his brother's shirt; that one, his father's trousers. As soon as

the music stops, these little tots know by memory the piece that has

been played; they whistle and hum it with great delight, showing at

this early age their musical talent.

In the meantime wagons and carriages arrive, bringing relatives,

friends, and strangers. Gamblers are also on hand with their best

fighting cocks and bags of money, ready to risk their fortunes on

the green cloth or in the cock-pit.

"The alferez gets fifty dollars a night," murmured a little, chubby

man when he heard of the recent arrivals, for there were already

many rumors that these people bribed the officer so that they might

not be interfered with by the law. "Captain Tiago," he added,

"is going to come and will be banker in the monte game. Captain

Joaquin brings eighteen thousand. There is going to be a liam-po,

[11] and the Chino Carlos is going to back it with ten thousand pesos

capital. Big bettors will come from Tanauan, Lipa, and Batangas,

as well as from Santa Cruz. It's going to be great! It's going to be

great! This year Captain Tiago will not skin us as he has in the past,

for he has not paid for more than three masses this year, and besides,

I have a mutya [12] of cacao. And how are all the family?"

"Very well, very well, thank you!" replied the visitors from the

country.

But the place where the greatest animation reigns, where there is

almost a tumult, is over there on the level piece of ground, a short

distance from Ibarra's house. Pulleys creak, and the place resounds

with the sound of the hammer, the chiseling of stones, hewing of beams

and the shouting of voices. A gang of workmen is making an excavation

which will be wide and deep; others are busy piling up quarry stone,

unloading carts, sifting sand, putting a capstan in place and so on.

"Put that here! That, there! Come, be lively about it!" shouts a

little, old man with an animated and intelligent physiognomy as he

goes about, a yard stick and plumb line in hand. He is the director

of the work, Nor Juan, architect, mason, carpenter, whitewasher,

locksmith, painter, stone cutter, and, on occasion, sculptor.

"We must finish it immediately! To-morrow nothing can be done, and

day after to-morrow the ceremony of laying the corner stone is to

take place! Come, be lively!"

"Make the hole just large enough for this cylinder!" said he to

one of the stone cutters who was chiseling off a large quadrangular

stone. "Inside of this our names will be kept."

Then he would repeat to every countryman who came along what he had

already said a thousand times: "Do you know what we are going to

build? Well, it is a school house, a model of its kind, something

like those in Germany, but still better. The architect, Senor R.,

draughted the plans and I, I am in charge of the work. Yes, sir,

you see this is going to be a regular palace with two wings, one for

the boys and one for the girls. Here in the middle is to be a large

garden with three fountains. There, on the sides, groves, where the

children can sow and cultivate plants during the hours of recreation,

thus improving the time. Just see how deep the foundations are to be:

three meters and seventy-five centimeters. The building is going to

have a cellar where the indolent pupils will be confined. This will be

very close to the playing ground and the gymnasium, so that those who

are punished may hear the diligent pupils enjoying themselves. Do you

see this large space? Well, this will be a place for them to run and

jump. The girls will have a separate garden with benches, swings,

a special place for jumping the rope and rolling hoops, fountains

and a bird-house. This is going to be magnificent!"

He kept going from one end to the other, inspecting everything and

passing his opinion on all.

"I find that you have got too much lumber here for a crane," said he to

a yellowish-looking fellow, who was directing some other laborers. "I

would have enough, with three large beams, to form the tripod and

with three others to serve as supporters."

"O, pshaw!" replied the other, smiling in a peculiar way. "The more

apparatus we give ourselves, the greater effect we will produce. The

massiveness of it will make a bigger show and give it more

importance. They will say: 'What a lot of work has been done!' You

look at that crane that I am constructing. In a little while, I am

going to ornament it with banderolas, garlands of flowers and leaves,

and ... you will say afterward that you were right in hiring me,

and Senor Ibarra cannot wish for more than that!"

The man laughed. Nor Juan also smiled and shook his head.

As a matter of fact, the plan for the school had been approved by

everybody and all were talking about it. The curate had asked to be

allowed to be one of the patrons of the enterprise and he himself was

to bless the laying of the corner stone, a ceremony which would take

place on the last day of the San Diego festival, as it was considered

one of the great solemnities.

The dismal presentiments of the old Tasio seemed to have been

dissipated forever. One day Ibarra told the old man so, but the old

pessimist only replied: "Things may go well at first, but be on your

guard against masked enemies."


	16. 15

CHAPTER XV

AS NIGHT COMES ON.

Great preparations had also been made in the house of Captain Tiago. We

are already acquainted with the man. His love for pomp and his pride in

being a resident of Manila made it necessary that he should outdo the

residents of the province in the splendor of his celebration. There

was another thing, too, which made it necessary that he should try

to eclipse all others-the fact that his daughter Maria Clara and

his future son-in-law were also there. His prospective connection

with Ibarra caused the Captain to be often spoken of among the people.

Yes, as a matter of fact, one of the most serious newspapers in

Manila had printed an article on its first page, headed "Imitate

Him!" in which they offered Ibarra much advice and highly eulogized

him. The article spoke of him as "the illustrious and rich young

capitalist." Two lines below, he was termed "the distinguished

philanthropist," and, in the following paragraph, referred to as the

"disciple of Minerva who went to his Mother Country to salute the

real birthplace of arts and sciences." Captain Tiago was burning with

generous emulation and was wondering whether he ought not to erect

a convent at his own expense.

Days before the week of festivities, numerous boxes of provisions and

drinks, colossal mirrors, pictures, paintings and his daughter's piano

had arrived at the house. Maria Clara and Aunt Isabel were already

living there. Captain Tiago came on the day before the beginning of the

festival. As he kissed his daughter's hand, he made her a present of

a beautiful religious relic. It was solid gold, and set with diamonds

and emeralds, and contained a little sliver from Saint Peter's boat,

in which Our Saviour sat while fishing.

The Captain's interview with his future son-in-law could not have

been more cordial. Naturally, the school house was the subject of

conversation. Captain Tiago wanted him to call the school "The San

Francisco School."

"Believe me!" he said. "San Francisco is a good patron saint. If

you call it 'The Primary School,' you gain nothing. Who is Primary,

anyway?"

Some friends of Maria Clara arrived and invited her to go for a walk.

"But return quickly," said the Captain to his daughter, who asked

for his permission. "You know that Father Damaso is going to dine

with us to-night. He has just arrived."

And turning to Ibarra who was deep in thought, he added: "You will

dine with us, too? You will be all alone at home."

"With the greatest pleasure, I assure you, if I did not have to be at

home to-night to receive visitors," replied the young man, mumbling

his words and evading Maria Clara's glance.

"Bring your friends along with you," replied Captain Tiago

cheerfully. "In my house there is always enough to eat. And, besides

I would like to have you and Father Damaso understand each other."

"There'll be time enough for that," replied Ibarra, putting on a

forced smile and making ready to accompany the young ladies.

They went downstairs. Maria Clara was walking between Victoria and

Iday, while Aunt Isabel followed behind.

As they passed down the street, people stood aside respectfully

and gave them the inside of the way. Maria Clara was surprisingly

beautiful now. Her paleness had disappeared, and although her eyes

were thoughtful, her mouth, on the contrary, seemed all smiles. With

that amiability known only to a happy maiden, she saluted friends she

had known from childhood who to-day were admirers of her youthful

beauty. In less than fifteen days she had regained that frank

confidence, that childish chatter, which seemed for awhile to have been

left behind in the narrow walls of the convent. It seemed as though

the butterfly upon leaving its shell knew all the flowers at once. It

was enough that she be given a moment of flight and an opportunity

to warm herself in the golden rays of the sun, in order to throw off

the rigidity of the chrysalis. New life shone out in every part of her

young being. Everything she met with was good and beautiful. Her love

was manifested with virginal grace, and innocent in thought, she saw

nothing to cause her to put on false blushes. However, she was wont

to cover her face with her fan when they joked with her, but her eyes

would smile and a gentle tremor would pass over her whole being.

In front of Captain Basilio's house were some young men who saluted

our acquaintances and invited them into the house. The merry voice

of Sinang was heard, as she descended the stairs on a run and at once

put an end to all excuses.

"Come up a moment so that I can go out with you," said she. "It

bores me to be among so many strangers who talk about nothing but

fighting-cocks and playing cards."

They went upstairs. The house was full of people. Some advanced to

greet Ibarra, whose name was known to all. They contemplated with

ecstacy Maria Clara's beauty, and some of the matrons murmured as

they chewed their betel-nut: "She looks like the Virgin!"

After they had partaken of chocolate they resumed their walk. In the

corner of the plaza a beggar was singing the romance of the fishes,

to the accompaniment of a guitar. He was a common sight, a man

miserably dressed and wearing a wide-brimmed hat made out of palm

leaves. His clothing consisted of a frock coat covered with patches,

and a pair of wide trousers such as the Chinese wear, but torn in many

places. From beneath the brim of his hat two fiery orbs flashed out a

ray of light. He was tall and from his manner seemed to be young. He

put a basket down on the ground and, afterwards walking away from

it a little distance, he uttered strange, unintelligible sounds. He

remained standing, completely isolated, as if he and the people in the

street were trying to avoid each other. Women approached his basket,

and dropped into it fish, fruit and rice. When there was no one else

to approach the basket, other sadder but less mournful sounds could

be heard; perhaps he was thanking them. He picked up his basket and

walked away to do the same in another place.

Maria Clara felt that this was a pitiful case. Full of interest,

she asked about the strange being.

"It is a leper," replied Iday. "He contracted the disease some four

years ago; some say by taking care of his mother, others by having

been confined in a damp prison. He lives there in the field near the

Chinese cemetery. He does not communicate with any one: everybody

flees from him on account of the fear of contagion. You should see his

fantastic little house! The wind, the rain and the sunshine go in and

out of it as a needle goes through cloth. They have prohibited him

from touching anything belonging to anybody. One day a little child

fell into the canal. The canal was deep, but this man happened to be

passing near and helped to get the little child out. The child's father

learned of it, made a complaint to the gobernadorcillo and the latter

ordered that he be given six stripes in the middle of the street,

the whip to be afterwards burned. That was atrocious! The leper ran

away howling; they pursued him and the gobernadorcillo cried out:

'Catch him! One might better be drowned than have that disease!'"

"That is true," murmured Maria Clara. And then, without noticing what

she was doing, she went up to the basket of the unfortunate wretch and

dropped into it the relic which her father had just presented to her.

"What have you done?" her friends asked her.

"I have nothing else to give him," she replied, concealing the tears

in her eyes by a smile.

"And what is he going to do with the relic?" said Victoria to

her. "One day they gave him money but he pushed it away from him with

his cane. Why would he care for it, if no one would accept anything

coming from him? If he could only eat the relic!"

Maria Clara looked longingly at the women who were selling provisions

and shrugged her shoulders.

But the leper approached the basket, picked up the piece of jewelry

which shone in his hands, knelt down, kissed it, and, after taking

off his hat, buried his face in the dust on which the young girl

had walked.

Maria Clara hid her face behind her fan and raised her handkerchief

to her eyes.


	17. 16

CHAPTER XVI

THE HOISTING CRANE.

While two of the actors were singing the Incarnatus est in the

church at the celebration of mass on the last day of the fiesta,

and all were kneeling and the priests were bowing their heads, a man

whispered in Ibarra's ear: "During the ceremony of the blessing of

the corner stone, do not go near the priest, do not go in the ditch,

do not approach the corner stone. Your life will depend on it."

Ibarra looked and saw that it was Elias, the pilot, but, as soon as

he had spoken, he lost himself in the crowd.

The yellow-skinned man kept his word. It was not a simple lifting

crane which he had built over the ditch for the purpose of lowering

the enormous block of granite. It was not the mere tripod which Nor

Juan had wanted for holding a tackle-block. It was something more. It

was at the same time a machine and an ornament, grand and imposing.

The confusing and complicated scaffolding had been raised to a height

of more than eight meters. Four heavy timbers buried in the ground

and supporting each other with colossal, diagonal braces, served

as the base. The braces were joined to each other by immense nails,

about half driven into the wood, perhaps because the apparatus was

only of a provisional nature, and it could then be more easily taken

down. Enormous cables were hanging from all sides, giving the entire

apparatus an aspect of solidity and grandeur. The top was gay with

flags and banners of various colors, floating pennants, and massive

garlands of flowers and leaves, all artistically interwoven.

On high, in the shade of the projecting timbers, banners and wreaths,

a large three-wheeled tackle-block was suspended by ropes and iron

hooks. Over the shining rims of these pulleys great cables passed,

holding suspended in the air a massive stone. The center of this stone

had been chiseled out so that when lowered upon the hollowed stone,

which had already been placed in the ditch, a small enclosure would be

formed between the two. This space was to contain an account of the

ceremonies, newspapers, manuscripts and coins, to be transmitted,

perhaps, to other generations, in the far distant future. From

this tackle-block at the top of the structure, the cable passed

down to another smaller pulley which was fastened at the base of the

apparatus. Through this pulley, the cable passed to the cylinder of a

windlass which was held to the ground by massive beams. This windlass

which can be operated by only two hands, multiplies man's strength by

means of a series of cog-wheels. Although there is a gain in force,

there is of course a loss in velocity.

"Look!" said the yellow-skinned man, as he gave the crank a

turn. "Look, Nor Juan, with my strength alone, I can raise and lower

that massive block of stone. This is so nicely arranged that I can

control the ascent or descent of the stone by inches. Thus one man

below can arrange the two stones in place, while I manipulate the

apparatus from here."

Nor Juan could but admire the man as he smiled in such a peculiar

manner. The curious people standing about made comments and praised

the yellow-skinned man for his work.

"Who taught you the mechanism?" asked Nor Juan.

"My father, my father who is now dead," he replied, with that same

peculiar smile.

"And who taught your father?"

"Don Saturnino, the grandfather of Don Crisostomo."

"I did not know that Don Saturnino-"

"Oh, he knew a good many things. Not only did he know how to whip well

and how to expose his workmen to the rays of the sun, but he knew also

how to awaken the sleeping and how to make those awake sleep. In time,

you will see what my father has taught me, you will see!"

And the yellow fellow smiled in a strange manner.

At two eating stands, there was now being prepared a sumptuous and

abundant breakfast. However, on the table designated for the little

ones of the school, there was no wine, but instead a larger amount

of fruit. In a covered passage which joined the two stands, there

were seats for the musicians and a table covered with sweetmeats,

candies and flasks of water, ornamented with leaves and flowers,

for the thirsty public.

The crowd, resplendent in gay-colored clothes, was already fleeing from

the hot rays of the sun and gathering under the shade of the trees

or of the covering. The small boys climbed the trees near the place,

in order to get a better view of the ceremony, and looked with envy

upon the school children, who, clean and well dressed, were occupying

a place designated for them. The fathers of the school children were

enthusiastic. They, poor countrymen that they were, would have the

pleasure of seeing their children eat on a white table cloth, just

like the curate and the Alcalde. Merely to think of it was enough to

drive away their hunger.

Soon strains of music were heard in the distance. A promiscuous

crowd of persons of all ages and dress was preceding the band. The

yellow-looking man was uneasy and was examining the whole apparatus. A

curious countryman was also following his glances and was observing

every movement he made. This countryman was Elias, who had also come to

attend the ceremony. His hat and his style of dress almost concealed

his identity. He had secured the best possible place for himself,

right up close to the crane, on the edge of the excavation.

With the band of music came the Alcalde, the officials of the town, the

friars, with the exception of Father Damaso, and the Spanish employees

of the Government. Ibarra was conversing with the Alcalde, for they had

become quite friendly from the time the young man paid him some high

compliments on his insignia, decorations and cordon. Pride in belonging

to an aristocratic family was a weakness of His Excellency. Captain

Tiago, the alferez and several wealthy persons, with their shining

silk hats, walked along, surrounded by a group of youngsters. Father

Salvi followed, the same as ever, silent and pensive.

The young man could feel his heart beat as they approached the

designated place. Instinctively, he glanced at the strange-looking

scaffolding which had been raised there. He saw, too, the

yellow-looking man who saluted him with respect, and, for a moment,

Ibarra fixed his eyes on him. To his surprise, Ibarra also discovered

Elias on the edge of the excavation. He gave the young pilot a

significant look, letting him understand that he remembered what he

had said in the church.

The curate put on his sacerdotal vestments and began the ceremony. The

one-eyed sacristan mayor held the book and a choir boy was charged

with the water-sprinkler and the vessel of blessed water. The others

who stood around about, their heads uncovered, maintained a deep

silence. In spite of the fact that Father Salvi read in a low tone,

it could be noticed that his voice trembled.

In the meantime the articles, such as manuscripts, newspapers,

medals and coins, which were to be placed in the corner stone had

been enclosed in a little glass box, and hermetically sealed in a

leaden cylinder.

"Senor Ibarra, do you wish to put the box in its place? The curate

awaits it," said the Alcalde to Ibarra.

"I would do so with much pleasure," replied he, "but I would be

usurping the honorable duty of the Senor Notary. The Notary ought to

attest the act."

The Notary took it seriously, descended the carpeted stairs to the

bottom of the excavation and, with fitting solemnity, deposited the

box in the hollow which had been made in the stone. The curate then

took up the sprinkler and sprinkled the stones with holy water.

The time had now come for each one to put his trowelful of mortar on

the surface of the stone, which lay in the ditch, so that the other

stone might fit upon it and be made to adhere to it.

Ibarra presented the Alcalde with a trowel, upon whose wide silver

blade was engraved the date. But His Excellency first delivered an

address in Spanish.

"Citizens of San Diego," he said in a solemn tone. "I have the honor to

preside at a ceremony the importance of which you already understand. A

school is being founded. The school is the base of society. The school

is the book in which is written the future of the people. Show me

the schools of a people and I will tell you what those people are.

"Citizens of San Diego! Thank God that he has given you virtuous

priests; and the Mother Country that she untiringly diffuses her

civilization over these fertile islands, protected by her glorious

flag. Thank God that she has had pity for you, bringing you these

humble priests that they may enlighten you and teach you the divine

word. Thank the Government for the great sacrifices it has made,

makes now and will make in the future for you and your sons.

"And now that the first stone of this great edifice has been blessed,

I, Alcalde Mayor of this province, in the name of His Majesty,

the King, whom God guard, King of the Spains, in the name of the

illustrious Spanish Government, and under its spotless and ever

victorious banner, I consecrate this act and begin the building of

this school.

"Citizens of San Diego! Long live the King! Long live Spain! Long live

the Church! Long live the priests! Long live the Catholic religion!"

"Viva! Viva!" replied the others. "Long live the Alcalde!"

The Alcalde majestically descended to the accompaniment of the music

which had begun to play. He placed some trowels of mortar on the

stone and with equal majesty ascended the stairs.

The Government employees applauded.

Ibarra offered another silver trowel to the curate, who, after fixing

his eyes on him for a moment, descended slowly to the bottom of the

excavation. When about half way down the stairs, he raised his eyes

to look at the stone which hung suspended in the air by the powerful

cables, but he only looked at it for a second and then descended. He

did the same as the Alcalde had done, but this time more applause

was heard, for the Government employees were assisted by the other

friars and Captain Tiago.

Father Salvi seemed to be searching for some one to whom to hand the

trowel. He looked with hesitation toward Maria Clara, but, changing

his mind, he offered it to the Notary. The latter, for the sake of

gallantry, approached Maria Clara, who declined it with a smile. The

friars, the Government employees and the alferez, one after another

went down and repeated the ceremony. Captain Tiago was not forgotten.

Ibarra had been omitted. He was about to order the yellow man to lower

the other stone, when the curate remembered him. In a pleasant tone

and, with an affectation of familiarity, he said to him. "Aren't you

going to put on your trowelful, Senor Ibarra?"

"I would be like the fellow who made the stew and then ate it,"

replied the young man in the same tone.

"O, go on!" said the Alcalde, giving him a gentle push. "If you don't,

I will order them not to lower the stone and then we will have to

wait here till Judgment Day."

So terrible a threat forced Ibarra to obey. He exchanged the small

silver trowel for a larger iron one, which made some of the people

smile. He advanced quietly and descended the stairs. Elias looked at

him with an indescribable expression. If you had seen him, you would

have thought that all his life was concentrated in his eyes. The

yellow man looked down into the abyss opening at his feet.

Ibarra, after glancing at the stone which hung over his head, and then

at Elias and the yellow man, said to Nor Juan in a trembling voice:

"Give me the bucket of mortar and find another trowel for me above."

The young man stood alone. Elias was no longer looking at him; his eyes

instead were riveted on the yellow man's hand, while the latter leaned

over the ditch and followed with anxiety the movements of Ibarra.

The noise of the trowel removing a mass of sand and lime was heard,

accompanied by the low murmur of the employees who were congratulating

the Alcalde on his address.

Suddenly there was a frightful creaking. The pulley which was tied to

the base of the crane jumped and then the windlass struck the apparatus

like a battering-ram. The timbers swayed, ropes flew into the air and,

in a second, all came down with a terrible crash. A cloud of dust was

raised, and a thousand cries filled the air. Nearly all fled; a few

hurried to the ditch. Only Maria Clara and Father Salvi remained in

their places without moving, both pale and silent.

When the cloud of dust had partially cleared away, Ibarra could be

seen standing among a mass of beams, bamboos, and cables, between

the windlass and the massive stone, which in its descent had shaken

and crushed everything. The young man was still holding the trowel

in his hand, his eyes staring with fright at the dead body of a man

which was lying at his feet, half buried under the timbers.

"Are you hurt?-Are you still alive? For God's sake speak!" said some

of the employees, full of terror.

"Miracle! a miracle!" cried some.

"Come and remove the body of this unfortunate man," said Ibarra,

as if awakening from a dream.

On hearing his voice, Maria Clara felt her strength giving way and

she fell, half fainting, into the arms of her friends.

Great confusion reigned. Everybody was talking, gesticulating,

and running from one side to the other, up and down the stairs,

all stupefied and full of consternation.

"Who is the dead man? Is he still alive?" asked the alferez.

The body was identified as the yellow workman who had been standing

beside the windlass.

"Let proceedings be brought against the superintendent of the work,"

was the first thing that the Alcalde said.

They examined the body, felt of the heart, but it was no longer

beating. The blow had fallen on the head and blood was oozing from

the nose, ears and mouth. Some strange marks were seen on the man's

neck. There were four deep dents on one side and a single but deeper

one on the other. It looked as though an iron hand had grasped it

like a pair of pinchers.

The priests warmly congratulated the young man and shook his hand.

"When I think that only a few moments ago I was standing there,"

said one of the employees. "Say! If I had been the last! Jesus!"

"It makes my hair stand on end," said another, who was bald.

Ibarra had departed, to ascertain the condition of Maria Clara.

"Let this not prevent the festival from continuing," said the

Alcalde. "God be praised! The dead man is neither a priest nor a

Spaniard! Your escape must be celebrated! Just think-if the stone

had fallen on you!"

"There is such a thing as a presentiment!" said the Notary. "I said

so. Senor Ibarra was reluctant to descend. I saw it!"

"Let the festival go on! Give us some music! Weeping will not bring

the dead man to life. Captain, serve warrants right here! Let the

clerk of the tribunal come. Arrest the superintendent of the work!"

"Put him in the stocks!"

"Put him in the stocks! Eh? Some music, music! Put the maestrillo in

the stocks."

"Senor Alcalde," replied Ibarra gravely, "if weeping cannot bring

the dead man back to life, neither can anything be gained by putting

a man in prison when we do not know that he is culpable. I will give

bail for him and ask that he be given liberty for some days at least."

"Well, well! But such a misfortune must not be repeated!"

All kinds of comments were circulating among the people. The theory

that it was a miracle was already accepted. Father Salvi, however,

seemed to rejoice very little over the miracle, which the people

attributed to a saint of his order and of his parish.

There were some who claimed to have seen, as the crane was falling, a

figure dressed in black like the Franciscans, go down in the ditch. It

was without doubt San Diego himself. It was supposed, too, that Ibarra

had heard mass and that the yellow man had not. It was all as clear

as the light of the sun.

Ibarra went home to change his clothes.

"Hm! Bad beginning," said Old Tasio as he left the place.

Ibarra had just finished dressing when a servant announced that

a countryman was asking for him. Supposing that it was one of his

laborers, the young man ordered that they show him into his study,

which also served as a library and a chemical laboratory. But, to

his great surprise, he met the muscular figure of the mysterious Elias.

"You recently saved my life," said he in Tagalog, at once comprehending

Ibarra's movement. "I have paid you only half of the debt, and you

are not indebted to me; rather the contrary. I have come to ask a

favor of you..."

"Speak out!" replied the young man, in the same language and somewhat

surprised at the gravity of the peasant.

For some seconds, Elias looked fixedly into Ibarra's eyes and then

replied: "If human justice should ever wish to clear up this mystery,

I beg of you not to speak to any one about the warning that I gave

you in the church."

"Don't be troubled about that," replied the young man with a certain

note of displeasure in his voice. "I know that they are hunting you,

but I am no informer."

"Oh, it is not for my sake, it is not for me!" exclaimed Elias,

not without some pride. "It is for your sake. I have nothing to fear

from men."

Ibarra's surprise increased. The tone in which the countryman was

speaking was new to him and did not seem to be in accord either with

his state or his fortune.

"What do you mean?" asked Ibarra, interrogating the mysterious man

with his look.

"I do not speak in enigmas; I try to express myself clearly. For

your greater security, it is necessary that your enemies think you

unsuspecting and off your guard."

Ibarra stepped back.

"My enemies? Have I enemies?"

"All of us have, sir, all from the lowest insect to man, from the

poorest to the richest and most powerful. Enmity is the law of

life. You have enemies in the highest and in the lowest ranks. You

are planning a great undertaking; you have a past; your father, your

grandfather had enemies because they had passion. In life it is not

criminals who provoke the most hatred, but rather honorable men."

"Do you know my enemies?"

Elias did not reply at once, but meditated.

"I knew one, the one who has died," he replied. "Last night I

discovered that something was being plotted against you, through some

words that were exchanged between him and an unknown man who lost

himself in the crowd. 'The fish will not eat this one as they did

his father; you will see to-morrow,' said he. These words attracted

my attention, not only on account of their meaning but because they

were spoken by this man, who only a few days ago had presented himself

to the superintendent of the work with the express desire that he be

given charge of the work of placing the corner stone. He did not ask

for a large wage, but made a great show of his knowledge. I had no

sufficient reasons to attribute evil designs to him, but something

told me that my suspicions were right. For this reason, in order to

warn you, I chose a moment and an occasion when you could not ask me

any questions. You already know the rest."

Elias was then silent for some moments; yet Ibarra did not reply nor

utter a word. He was meditating.

"I am sorry that the man is dead," he replied at last. "We might have

been able to learn something more about it from him."

"If he had lived he would have escaped from the trembling hand of

blind, human justice. God has now judged him! God has killed him! Let

God be the only judge!"

Crisostomo looked a moment at the man who was speaking to him in this

manner. He noticed that his muscular arms were covered with bruises

and black and blue spots.

"Do you also believe in the miracle version of the affair?" he said,

smiling-"this miracle of which the people speak?"

"If I believed in miracles, I would not believe in God. I would believe

in a deified man. In fact, I would believe that man had created God

after his image and likeness," he replied solemnly. "But I believe

in Him. More than once I have felt His hand. When all was falling

headlong, threatening destruction for everything which was in the

place, I Held the criminal. I put myself by his side. He was struck

and I am safe and sound."

"You? So that you...?"

"Yes! I held him when he wanted to escape, once he had begun his

fatal work. I saw his crime. I say: 'Let God be the only judge among

men. Let Him be the only one who has the right to take away life. Let

man never think of substituting himself for him!'"

"And, still you this time..."

"No!" interrupted Elias, foreseeing the objection that he was going to

raise. "It is not the same thing. When a man as judge condemns another

to death or destroys his future forever, he does it with impunity and

makes use of the force of other men to carry out his sentence. Yet,

after all, the sentence may be wrong and unjust. But I, in exposing the

criminal to the same danger which he had prepared for others, ran the

same risks. I did not kill him. I allowed the hand of God to kill him."

"Do you not believe in chance?"

"To believe in chance is like believing in miracles. Both theories

suppose that God does not know the future. What is a casualty? A

happening which absolutely nobody knows beforehand. What is a

miracle? A contradiction, a contortion of the laws of nature. Lack

of foresight and contradiction in the All Knowing, who directs the

machinery of the world, are two great imperfections."

"Who are you?" Ibarra asked again, with a certain dread. "Have you

studied?"

"I have had to believe in God a great deal because I have lost my

faith in men," replied the pilot, evading the question.

Ibarra thought that he understood this man; young and proscribed,

he disregarded human justice; denied the right of man to judge his

equals, he protested against power and superiority of certain classes

of men over others.

"But you must admit the necessity of human justice, however imperfect

it may be," he replied. "God, although he has ministers on the earth,

cannot, that is to say, cannot clearly give his judgment upon the

millions of contentions which are stirred up by our passions. It is

necessary, it is just, that a man should sometimes judge his fellows."

"For good, yes; for bad, no. To correct and improve, yes; but not

to destroy, for if he fails in his judgment, there is no power that

can remedy the evil that has been done. But," he added, changing his

tone, "this discussion is beyond and above me, and I am keeping you

from those who are now awaiting you. But do not forget what I have

just said: You have enemies. Take care of yourself for the good of

your country!"


	18. 17

CHAPTER XVII

THE BANQUET.

There, under the shade of the decorated pavilion, the great men of the

province were banqueting. The Alcalde occupied one end of the table;

Ibarra, the other. On the young man's right sat Maria Clara, and on

his left, the Notary. Captain Tiago, the alferez, the gobernadorcillo,

the friars, the employees, and the few senoritas who were present

were seated, not according to rank but according to their own fancy.

The banquet was very animated, but, before it was half over,

a messenger with a telegram came in search of Captain Tiago. The

Captain asked permission to read the message, and naturally all begged

of him to do so.

The worthy Captain at first knit his eyebrows; and then raised

them. His face became pale, and then brightened up. Doubling up the

sheet of paper hurriedly, he arose.

"Gentlemen," said he, confused, "His Excellency, the Governor General,

is coming this afternoon to honor my house."

And then he started on a run, taking with him the telegram and the

napkin, but not his hat. All sorts of questions and exclamations

were shouted after him. The announcement of the coming of the

tulisanes could not have had a greater effect. "But listen! When

does he come? Tell us about it! His Excellency!" But Captain Tiago

was already far away.

"His Excellency is coming and will be a guest at Captain Tiago's

house!" exclaimed some one, without considering that the Captain's

daughter and future son-in-law were present.

"The choice could not have been a better one," replied another.

The friars looked at each other. Their expressions seemed to say:

"The Governor General is committing another of his errors, offending

us in this way. He ought to be the guest of the convent." But despite

the fact that they thought this, they all kept silent and no one of

them expressed his opinion.

"Even yesterday he was speaking to me about it," said the Alcalde,

"but, at that time, His Excellency was not decided."

"Do you know, Your Excellency, Senor Alcalde, how long the Governor

General intends to remain here?" asked the alferez, a little uneasy.

"No, not positively. His Excellency likes surprises."

"Here come some other telegrams!"

The messages were for the Alcalde, the alferez, and the

gobernadorcillo, and announced the same thing to each of them. The

friars noticed that none came addressed to the curate.

"His Excellency will arrive at four o'clock this afternoon, gentlemen,"

said the Alcalde solemnly. "We can finish at our leisure."

Leonidas, in the pass of Thermopylae, could not have said with better

grace "To-night we will dine with Pluto."

"I notice the absence of our great preacher," said one of the

government employees timidly. The speaker had an inoffensive look

and before this had not opened his mouth, except to eat, during the

entire morning.

All who knew the life of Crisostomo's father twitched their eyes

significantly and seemed to say by their movements: "Go on! It's a bad

beginning that you have made!" But others, more benevolently disposed,

replied: "He must be somewhat fatigued."

"What? Somewhat fatigued!" exclaimed the alferez. "Why, he must be

exhausted. What did you think of the sermon this morning?"

"Superb, gigantic!" said the Notary.

"To be able to speak like Father Damaso, a man needs lungs," observed

Father Manuel Martin.

The Augustine did not concede more than lung power.

"And such easiness of expression," added Father Salvi.

"Do you know that Senor Ibarra has the best cook in the province,"

remarked the Alcalde, cutting off the conversation.

"So they say," replied one of the Government employees, "but his fair

neighbor does not wish to do honor to his table, for she scarcely

takes a mouthful."

Maria Clara blushed.

"I thank you, Senor... You occupy yourself too much about me ... but

..." she said timidly.

"But your presence honors him sufficiently," concluded the gallant

Alcalde. Then turning to Father Salvi: "Father Curate, I notice that

you have been silent and pensive all day long."

"It is my nature," muttered the Franciscan. "I would rather listen

than talk."

"Your Reverence seeks always to gain and never to lose," replied the

alferez, in a joking manner.

But Father Salvi did not take it as a joke. His eyes flashed a

moment and he replied: "You know very well, Senor Alferez, that,

during these days, I am not the one who gains most!"

The alferez overlooked the fling with a false laugh and pretended

not to hear it.

"But, gentlemen, I do not understand how you can be talking about

gains and losses," intervened the Alcalde. "What will these amiable

and discreet young women, who honor us with their presence, think

of us? To my mind, the young women are like AEolian harps in the

night. It is only necessary to lend an attentive ear to hear them,

for their unspeakable harmonies elevate the soul to the celestial

spheres of the infinite and of the ideal..."

"Your Excellency is a poet," said the Notary gayly; and both drained

their wine glasses.

"I cannot help it," said the Alcalde, wiping his lips. "The occasion,

if it does not always make the thief, makes the poet. In my youth I

composed verses, and they certainly were not bad ones."

"So Your Excellency has been unfaithful to the Muses, deserting them

for Themis."

"Psh!" What would you do? It has always been my dream to run

through the whole social scale. Yesterday I was gathering flowers,

and singing songs; to-day I hold the wand of Justice and serve

Humanity. To-morrow..."

"To-morrow Your Excellency will throw the wand into the fire to warm

yourself with it in the winter of life, and will then take a portfolio

in the Ministry," added Father Sibyla.

"Psh! Yes ... no... To be a Minister is not precisely my ideal. The

unexpected always happens, though. A little villa in the north of

Spain to pass the summer in, a mansion in Madrid, and some possessions

in Andalusia for the winter... We will live remembering our dear

Philippines... Of me Voltaire will not say: 'Nous n'avons jamais

ete chez ces peuples que pour nous y enrichir et pour les calomnier.'"

The Government employees thought that His Excellency intended a joke

and they began to laugh to make a show of appreciating it. The friars

imitated them since they did not know that Voltaire was the Volta-i-re

whom they had so often cursed and condemned to Hades. Father Sibyla,

however, recognized the name and assumed a serious air, supposing

that the Alcalde had uttered some heresy.

Father Damaso was waddling down the road. He was half smiling, but in

such a malignant manner, that on seeing him, Ibarra, who was in the

act of speaking, lost the thread of his remarks. All were surprised to

see Father Damaso, but, excepting Ibarra, they greeted him with marks

of pleasure. They had already reached the last course of the dinner,

and the champagne was foaming in the glasses.

Father Damaso showed a little nervousness in his smile when he saw

Maria Clara seated on the right of Crisostomo. But, taking a chair

by the side of the Alcalde, he asked in the midst of a significant

silence: "Were you not talking about something, senores? Continue!"

"We were drinking a toast," replied the Alcalde. "Senor Ibarra was

mentioning those who had aided him in his philanthropic enterprise

and was speaking of the architect when Your Reverence..."

"Well, I don't understand architecture," interrupted Father Damaso,

"but architects and the dunces who go to them make me laugh! You have

an example right here. I drew the plan for a church and it has been

constructed perfectly: so an English jeweler who was one day a guest

at the convent told me. To draught a plan, one need have but a small

degree of intelligence."

"However," replied the Alcalde, seeing that Ibarra was silent,

"when we are dealing with certain edifices, for example a school,

we need a skilled man (perito)."

"He who needs a perito is a perrito (little dog)!" exclaimed Father

Damaso, with a scoff. "One would have to be more of a brute than the

natives, who erect their own houses, if he did not know how to build

four walls and put a covering over them. That's all that a school

house is."

All looked toward Ibarra. But the young man, even if he did look pale,

kept on conversing with Maria Clara.

"But Your Reverence should consider..."

"Just look you," continued the Franciscan without allowing the Alcalde

to speak. "See how one of our lay brothers, the most stupid one we

have, has built a good hospital, handsome and cheap. It is well built

and he did not pay more than eight cuartos a day to those whom he

employed even those who came from other towns. That fellow knows how

to treat them. He does not do like many fools and mesticillos [13]

who spoil them by paying them three or four reales."

"Does Your Reverence say that he only paid eight

cuartos? Impossible!" said the Alcalde, trying to change the course

of the conversation.

"Yes, Senor; and those who brag of being good Spaniards ought to

imitate him. You can see very well now, since the Suez Canal was

opened, corruption has come here. Before, when we had to double the

Cape, there were not so many worthless people coming out here, nor

did Filipinos go abroad to be corrupted and spoiled."

"But, Father Damaso!"

"You know very well what the native is. As quickly as he learns

anything, he goes and becomes a doctor. All these ignoramuses who go

to Europe..."

"But listen, Your Reverence ..." interrupted the Alcalde, becoming

uneasy at such harsh words.

"They are all going to end as they merit," he continued. "The hand of

God is upon them and one must be blind not to see it. Even in this

life, the fathers of such vipers receive their punishment... They

die in prison, eh?"

But he did not finish his remarks. Ibarra, his face flushing, had been

following him with his eyes. On hearing the allusion to his father,

he rose and, with a single bound, brought down his strong hand on the

head of the priest. Stunned with the blow, the friar fell on his back.

Full of astonishment and terror, no one dared to intervene.

"Keep back!" cried the young man, with a menacing voice, and

brandishing a sharp knife in his hand. In the meantime, he held

the friar down with his foot on his neck. The latter was recovering

consciousness. "Let no one approach who does not want to die!"

Ibarra was beside himself. His body trembled, and his threatening

eyes almost burst from their sockets. Friar Damaso struggled and

raised himself, but the young man, seizing him by the collar, shook

him till he fell on his knees and collapsed.

"Senor Ibarra! Senor Ibarra!" cried some.

But nobody, not even the alferez, dared to approach the glistening

blade, considering the strength of the young man and the state of

his mind. All were paralyzed.

"All of you people here have said nothing! Now the matter concerns

me! I have avoided him. God now brings him to me. Let God judge!"

The young man was breathing hard. With iron hand he held the Franciscan

down, and the latter struggled in vain to break loose.

"My heart beats tranquilly. My hand is sure."

He looked about him and continued: "Is there among you any one who

does not love his father; any one who hates his memory, any one

who was born in disgrace and humiliation? See! Do you observe this

silence? Priest of a peaceful God, with your mouth full of sanctity

and religion, and a miserable heart, you could not have known what

a father is. You should have thought of your own! Do you see? Among

this crowd which you scorn, there is none such as you! You are judged!"

The people around him made a stir, believing that he was going

to strike.

"Back!" he again cried in a threatening voice. "What? Do you fear

that I would soil my hand with his impure blood? Have I not told

you that my heart beats tranquilly? Back from us, all! Listen,

priests, judges, you who think yourselves different from other men,

and who claim other rights for yourselves! Listen! My father was an

honorable man. Ask these people who venerate his memory. My father

was a good citizen. He sacrificed himself for me and for the good of

his country! His house was open. His table was ready for the stranger

or the exile who came to it in his misery. He was a good Christian;

he always did what was right. He never oppressed the helpless, nor

brought sorrow to the miserable and wretched. To this man, he opened

the door of his house. He had him sit at his table and he called

him his friend. What has he done in return? He has calumniated him,

persecuted him, has armed ignorance against him, violating the sanctity

of his office, has thrown him out of his tomb, dishonored his memory,

and persecuted him even in death's repose. And not content with that,

he now persecutes his son. I have fled from him, I have avoided his

presence. You heard him this morning profane the pulpit; you saw

him point me out to the popular fanaticism; I said nothing. Now he

comes here in search of a quarrel. To your surprise, I suffered in

silence; but he again insults the sacred memory of my father, that

memory which every son holds dear... You who are here, you priests,

you judges, have you seen your father watching over you night and day

and working for you? Have you seen him deprive himself of you for your

good? Have you seen your father die in prison, heart broken, sighing

for some one to caress him, searching for some being to console him,

alone in sickness, while you were in a foreign land? Have you heard

his name dishonored afterward? Have you found his tomb vacant when

you wished to pray upon it? No? You are silent. Then by that silence

you condemn him!"

He raised his arm; but a young maiden, quick as a flash, put herself

between them and with her delicate hands stopped the arm of the

avenger. It was Maria Clara.

Ibarra looked at her with an expression that seemed to reflect

madness. Gradually, he loosened the vise-like fingers of his hand,

allowed the body of the Franciscan to fall, and dropped his knife

upon the ground. Covering his face, he fled through the crowd.


	19. 18

CHAPTER XVIII

THE FIRST CLOUD.

The house of Captain Tiago was no less disturbed than the imagination

of the people. Maria Clara, refusing to listen to the consolation

of her aunt and foster sister, did nothing but weep. Her father had

forbidden her to speak to Ibarra until the priests should absolve

him from the excommunication which they had pronounced upon him.

Captain Tiago, though very busy preparing his house for the reception

of the Governor General, had been summoned to the convent.

"Don't cry, my girl," said Aunt Isabel as she dusted off the

mirrors. "They will certainly annul the excommunication; they will

write the Pope... We will make a large donation... Father Damaso

had nothing more than a fainting spell... He is not dead."

"Don't cry," said Andeng to her, in a low voice. "I will certainly

arrange it so that you can speak to him. What are the confessionals

made for, if we are not expected to sin? Everything is pardoned when

one has told it to the curate."

Finally, Captain Tiago arrived. They scanned his face for an answer

to their many questions, but his expression announced too plainly

his dismay. The poor man was sweating, and passing his hand over his

forehead. He seemed unable to utter a word.

"How is it, Santiago?" asked Aunt Isabel, anxiously.

He answered her with a sigh and dried away a tear.

"For God's sake, speak! What has happened?"

"What I had already feared!" he broke out finally half crying. "All is

lost! Father Damaso orders that the engagement be broken. If it is not

broken off, I am condemned in this life and in the next. They all tell

me the same thing, even Father Sibyla! I ought to shut the doors of

my house and ... I owe him more than fifty thousand pesos. I told the

Fathers so, but they would take no notice of it. 'Which do you prefer

to lose,' they said to me, 'fifty thousand pesos, or your life and your

soul?' Alas! Ay! San Antonio! If I had known it, if I had known it!"

Maria Clara was sobbing.

"Do not cry, my daughter," he added, turning to her. "You are not

like your mother. She never cried ... she never cried except when she

was whimsical just before your birth... Father Damaso tells me that

a relative of his has just arrived from Spain ... and that he wants

him to be your fiance."...

Maria Clara stopped up her ears.

"But, Santiago, are you out of your head?" cried Aunt Isabel. "Speak

to her now of another fiance! Do you think that your daughter can

change lovers as easily as she changes her dress?"

"I was thinking the same thing, Isabel. Don Crisostomo is rich... The

Spaniards only marry for love of money... But what would you have

me do? They have threatened me with excommunication. They say that

I am in great peril: not only my soul, but also my body ... my body,

do you hear? My body!"

"But you only give sorrow to your daughter. Are you not a friend of

the Archbishop? Why don't you write him?"

"The Archbishop is also a friar. The Archbishop does only what the

friars say. But, Maria, do not cry. The Governor General will come. He

will want to see you and your eyes are all inflamed... Alas! I

was thinking what a happy afternoon I was going to pass... Without

this misfortune, I would be the happiest of men and all would envy

me... Calm yourself, my girl. I am more unfortunate than you and I

do not cry. You can have another and better fiance, but I lose fifty

thousand pesos. Ah! Virgin of Antipolo! If I could only have some

luck to-night!"

Noises, detonations, the rumbling of carriages, the galloping of

horses, and a band playing the Marcha Real announced the arrival of

His Excellency, the Governor General of the Philippine Islands. Maria

Clara ran to hide in her bedroom... Poor girl! Gross hands were

playing with her heart, ignorant of the delicacy of its fibers.

In the meantime, the house filled with people. Loud steps, commands,

and the clanking of sabers and swords resounded on all sides. The

afflicted maiden was half kneeling before an engraving of the Virgin,

a picture representing her in that attitude of painful solitude,

known only to Delaroche, as if she had been surprised on returning

from the sepulchre of her Son. But Maria Clara was not thinking of

the grief of that Mother; she was thinking of her own. With her head

resting on her breast and her hands on the floor, she looked like a

lily bent by the storm. A future, cherished for years in her dreams;

a future whose illusions, born in her infancy and nursed through her

youth, gave form to the cells of her being-that future was now to

be blotted from the mind and heart by a single word!

Maria Clara was as good and as pious a Christian as her aunt. The

thought of an excommunication terrified her. The threat to destroy

the peace of her father demanded that she sacrifice her love. She

felt the entire strength of that affection which until now she had

not known. It was like a river which glides along smoothly; its banks

carpeted with fragrant flowers, its bed formed by fine sand, the wind

scarcely rippling its surface, so quiet and peaceful that you would

say that its waters were dead; until suddenly its channel is pent up,

ragged rocks obstruct its course, and the entangled trunks of trees

form a dike. Then the river roars; it rises up; its waves boil; it

is lashed into foam, beats against the rocks and rushes into the abyss.

She wanted to pray, but who can pray without hope? One prays when

there is hope. When there is none, we surrender ourselves to God

and wail. "My God!" cried her heart, "why shouldst thou separate me

thus from him I love? Why deny me the love of others? Thou dost not

deny me the sun, nor the air, nor dost thou hide the heavens from my

sight. Why dost thou deny me love, when it is possible to live without

sun, without air, and without the heavens, but without love, never?"

"Mother, mother," she was moaning.

Aunt Isabel came to take her from her grief. Some of her girl friends

had arrived and the Governor General also desired to talk with her.

"Aunt, tell them that I am ill!" begged the frightened maiden. "They

wish to make me play the piano and sing."

"Your father has promised it. You are not going to go back on your

father?"

Maria Clara arose, looked at her aunt, clasped her beautiful arms

about her and murmured: "Oh, if I had ..."

But, without finishing the sentence, she dried her tears and began

to make her toilet.


	20. 19

CHAPTER XIX

HIS EXCELLENCY.

"I want to speak with that young man," said His Excellency to an

adjutant. "He has awakened my interest."

"They have already gone to look for him, General! But there is a young

man here from Manila who insists on being introduced. We have told

him that Your Excellency has no time and that you have not come to

give audiences, but to see the town and the procession. But he has

replied that Your Excellency always has time to dispense justice."

His Excellency turned to the Alcalde as if in doubt.

"If I am not mistaken," said the latter, making a slight bow, "it

is a young man who this morning had a difficulty with Father Damaso

about the sermon."

"Still another? Has this friar undertaken to disturb the province,

or does he think that he is in command here? Tell the young man to

come in!"

His Excellency was walking nervously from one end of the sala to

the other.

In the lower part of the house, in the ante-room, were several

Spaniards, mingled with army officers and officials of the town of

San Diego and some of the neighboring villages. They were grouped in

little circles and were conversing about one thing and another. All

of the friars were there except Father Damaso, and they wanted to go

in and pay their respects to His Excellency.

"His Excellency, the Governor General, begs Your Reverences to wait

a moment," said the adjutant. "Walk in, young man!"

The young man from Manila entered the sala, pale and trembling.

Everybody was surprised. His Excellency must be irritated to dare to

make the friars wait. Father Sibyla said: "I have nothing to say to

him... I am losing time here!"

"It's the same with me," said an Augustine. "Shall we go?"

"Would it not be better for us to find out what he thinks?" asked

Father Salvi. "We would avoid a scandal ... and ... we would be able

to call to his mind his duty to ... the Church."

"Your Reverences can walk in, if you wish," announced the adjutant,

as he escorted out the young man, whose face was now, however,

glowing with satisfaction.

Friar Sibyla entered first. Behind him came Father Salvi, Father

Manuel Martin and the other priests. They all humbly saluted the

Governor General, with the exception of Father Sibyla, who preserved

even in his bow, an air of superiority. Father Salvi, on the contrary,

almost touched the floor with his head.

"Which of Your Reverences is Father Damaso?" asked His Excellency

unexpectedly, without having them sit down, or even asking about

their health, and without addressing them with any of those courteous

phrases which are customary with such high personages.

"Father Damaso is not among us, senor," replied Father Sibyla,

rather dryly.

"Your Excellency's servant lies ill in bed," added Father Salvi

meekly. "After having the pleasure of saluting you and of inquiring

about the health of Your Excellency, as befits all the good servants of

the King and all persons of good education, we also come in the name of

the respectful servant of Your Excellency who has the misfortune..."

"Oh," interrupted the Governor General, as he turned a chair around on

one leg and smiled nervously. "If all the servants of My Excellency

were like His Reverence Father Damaso, I would prefer to serve My

Excellency myself."

The Reverences did not know how to respond to this interruption.

"Take a seat, Your Reverences!" he added after a short pause, softening

his tone a little.

Captain Tiago came in dressed in a frock coat and walking on

tip-toes. He was leading Maria Clara by the hand. The young maiden was

trembling when she entered, but notwithstanding she made a graceful

and ceremonious bow.

"Is this your daughter?" asked the Governor General, somewhat

surprised.

"And Your Excellency's, my General," replied Captain Tiago

seriously. [14]

The Alcalde and the adjutants opened wide their eyes, but His

Excellency did not lose his gravity. He extended his hand to the

young maiden and said to her affably: "Happy are the fathers who have

daughters like you, senorita. They have spoken to me about you with

respect and consideration... I have desired to see you and to thank

you for your pretty deed of to-day. I am informed of all, and when

I write to His Majesty's Government I will not forget your generous

conduct. In the meantime, senorita, allow me in the name of His

Majesty the King whom I represent here and who loves to see peace and

tranquillity among his subjects, and in my own name, that of a father

who also has daughters of your age, allow me to extend to you most

sincere thanks and propose your name for some mark of recognition."

"Senor ..." replied Maria Clara, trembling.

His Excellency guessed what she wanted to say, and replied: "It is

well enough, senorita, that you are satisfied in your own conscience

with the mere esteem of your own people. The testimony of one's people

is the highest reward and we ought not to ask more. But, however,

I will not let pass this excellent opportunity to show you that,

if justice knows how to punish, she also knows how to reward and is

not always blind."

"Senor Don Juan Crisostomo awaits Your Excellency's orders," announced

the adjutant in a loud voice.

Maria Clara trembled.

"Ah!" exclaimed the Governor General. "Permit me, senorita, to express

the desire to see you again before I leave town. I still have some

very important things to say to you. Senor Alcalde, Your Lordship

will accompany me for a walk after the conference which I will hold

alone with Senor Ibarra."

"Your Excellency will permit us," said Father Salvi meekly, "to inform

you that Senor Ibarra is excommunicated ..."

His Excellency interrupted him saying: "I am glad that I have nothing

more to deplore than the condition of Father Damaso, for whom I

sincerely wish a complete recovery, because at his age a voyage to

Spain for his health would not be pleasant. But this depends on

him ... and in the meantime, may God preserve the health of Your

Reverences."

They retired one after the other.

"We will see who will make the journey first," said a Franciscan.

"I am going off now right away!" said Father Sibyla, with indignation.

"And we are going back to our provinces, too," said the Augustins.

They could not endure that through the fault of a Franciscan His

Excellency had received them coldly.

In the entrance hall they met Ibarra, their host only a few hours

ago. They exchanged no salutations, but their looks were eloquent.

The Alcalde, on the contrary, when the friars had disappeared,

greeted the young man and extended his hand to him in a familiar

way. But the arrival of the adjutant, who was looking for Ibarra,

did not give them an opportunity to converse.

Ibarra was dressed in deep mourning. He presented himself in a calm

manner, and bowed profoundly, despite the fact that the sight of the

friars had not seemed a good omen for him.

The Governor General advanced a few steps. "It gives me great

satisfaction to shake your hand. Grant me your entire confidence."

"Senor ... such kindness...!"

"Your surprise offends me. It indicates that you did not expect a

good reception from me. That is doubting my justice!"

"A friendly reception, senor, for an insignificant subject like myself,

is not justice, it is a favor."

"Well, well!" said His Excellency, sitting down and pointing out a

seat for Ibarra. "Let us speak frankly. I am very much pleased with

your action and I have already proposed to His Majesty's Government

that they grant you an insignia for your philanthropic intention of

erecting a school... If you had asked me, I would have attended the

ceremony with a great deal of pleasure and perhaps the unpleasantness

would have been avoided."

"My idea of erecting a school seems to me so insignificant," replied

the young man, "that I did not think it an occasion worthy of taking

the attention of Your Excellency from your many duties and cares. Then,

too, it was my duty to first address the highest authority of the

province."

His Excellency made a bow of satisfaction and adopting a still more

intimate manner, continued:

"In regard to the unpleasantness which you have had with Father

Damaso, have no fear nor regret. I will not touch a hair of your head

while I govern these Islands. And in regard to the excommunication,

I will speak to the Archbishop, for it is necessary for us to adapt

ourselves to circumstances. Here, we cannot laugh about these things

in public as we do in Spain or in cultured Europe. Nevertheless, be

more prudent in the future. You have put yourself in opposition to

the religious corporations, which, on account of your position and

wealth, need to be respected. But I will protect you, because I like

good sons, I like to see a person respect the honor of his father. I,

too, love my father, and as sure as there is a God, I know what I

would have done had I been in your place..."

And quickly turning the conversation, he asked: "You have told me

that you come from Europe; were you in Madrid?"

"Yes, senor; for some months."

"You have perhaps heard of my family?"

"Your Excellency had just left when I had the honor to be presented

to it."

"And why, then, did you come here without bringing some letter of

introduction?"

"Senor," replied Ibarra bowing, "because I do not come directly from

Spain, and because, having heard of Your Excellency's character,

I thought that a letter of introduction would not only be useless,

but even offensive. All Filipinos are recommended to you."

A smile appeared on the lips of the old officer and he replied slowly,

as if weighing and measuring his words:

"It flatters me to learn that you think so ... and ... so it ought to

be. However, young man, you ought to know what loads we bear upon our

shoulders here in the Philippines. Here, we, old army officers, have to

do and be everything: King, Secretary of State, of War, of Agriculture,

of Internal Affairs and of Justice. The worst part of it is the fact

that in regard to everything we have to consult our distant Mother

Country, which approves or rejects our propositions, according to

circumstances, sometimes blindly. And you know how we Spaniards say:

'Grasp much, get little.' Then, too, we come here ignorant of the

country and we leave it as soon as we begin to know it. With you I can

be frank, for it would be useless to appear otherwise. In Spain, where

each branch of the Government has its own Minister, born and brought

up in the country, where they have the press and public opinion, the

opposition is open and before the eyes of the Government, and shows

up its faults; yet, even there, all is imperfect and defective. And

when you consider the conditions here, it is a wonder that all is

not upset, with all those advantages lacking, and with the opposition

working in the dark. Good intentions and wishes are not wanting in us

governing officials, but we find ourselves obliged to make use of eyes

and arms which frequently we do not know, and which, perhaps, instead

of serving the country, serve only their own interests. That is not

our fault; it is the fault of circumstances. You arouse my interest

and I do not want our present system of government to prejudice you

in any way. I cannot watch everything, nor can I attend to all. Can

I be useful to you in any way? Have you anything to request?"

Ibarra meditated.

"Senor," he replied, "my greatest desire is the happiness of my

country, a happiness due to the efforts of our Mother Country and to

the efforts of my fellow countrymen, united with the eternal bonds

of a common interest and common object. What I ask the Government

can only give after many years of continuous work and proper reforms."

His Excellency looked at him for several seconds with a look which

Ibarra met naturally, without timidity and without boldness.

"You are the first man with whom I have spoken in this country,"

he exclaimed grasping his hand.

"Your Excellency has only seen those who lead a grovelling existence

in the city. You have not seen the calumniated hovels of our towns. If

you had, you would have seen true men, if generous hearts and simple

manners make true men."

The Governor General arose and paced the sala from one side to

the other.

"Senor Ibarra," he exclaimed, stopping a moment. The young man

arose. "I will probably leave here within a month. Your education and

your mode of thinking are not for this country. Sell what you possess,

get your trunk ready and come with me to Europe. That climate will

be better for you."

"I shall cherish all my life the memory of Your Excellency's kindness,"

replied Ibarra, moved by what the Governor General had said. "But I

ought to live in the country where my fathers have lived..."

"Where they have died, you should say, to speak more

exactly. Believe me! I possibly know your country better than you

do yourself... Ah! Now I remember," he exclaimed changing the tone

of his voice. "You are going to marry a lovely girl and I am keeping

you here! Go, go to her side, and that you may have greater liberty

send her father to me," he added, smiling. "Do not forget, however,

that I want you to accompany me for a walk."

Ibarra bowed and departed.

His Excellency called his adjutant.

"I am happy," said he, giving him a light slap on the shoulder. "To-day

I have seen for the first time how one can be a good Spaniard without

ceasing to be a good Filipino and to love his country. To-day, at last,

I have shown the Reverences that we are not all their playthings. This

young man has afforded me the opportunity, and, in a short time,

I will have settled all of my accounts with the friar. It's a pity

that this young man, some day or other ... but call the Alcalde to me."

The latter presented himself at once.

"Senor Alcalde," he said to him, as he entered the room, "in order

to avoid a repetition of scenes such as Your Honor witnessed this

afternoon, scenes which I deplore because they take away the prestige

of the Government and all Spaniards, I want to commend to you warmly

Senor Ibarra, that you may not only aid him in carrying out his

patriotic ends, but also prevent in the future any person of whatever

class or under whatever pretext, from molesting him."

The Alcalde understood the reprimand and bowed to conceal his

confusion.

"Have the alferez, who is in command here, informed to the same

effect. And you will find out if it is true that this officer has

methods of procedure that are not in accordance with the regulations. I

have heard more than one complaint on this score."

Captain Tiago, all starched and ironed, presented himself.

"Don Santiago," said His Excellency, in a cordial tone of voice,

"a little while ago I was congratulating you on having a daughter

like the Senorita de los Santos. Now I want to congratulate you on

your future son-in-law. The most virtuous of daughters is certainly

worthy of the best citizen of the Philippines. Is the date of the

wedding known?"

"Senor!" stammered the Captain, wiping away the perspiration which

was running down his face.

"O, come! I see that there is nothing definite. If you need godfathers,

I will be one of them with the greatest pleasure. I would do it to

take away the bad taste which so many of the weddings which I have

attended here have left in my mouth," he added, turning to the Alcalde.

"Yes, senor!" replied Captain Tiago, with a smile which inspired

compassion.

Ibarra had gone in search of Maria Clara, almost on a run. He had so

many things to tell her. He heard some gentle voices in one of the

rooms and knocked at the door.

"Who knocks?" asked Maria Clara.

The voices were silenced and the door ... was not opened.

"It is I. May I come in?" asked the young man, his heart beating

violently.

The silence was not broken. A few seconds afterward gentle steps

approached the door and Sinang's cheerful voice murmured through the

key-hole: "Crisostomo, we are going to the theatre to-night. Write

what you have to say to Maria Clara."

Then the footsteps were heard retreating, as quickly as they had come.

"What does that mean!" murmured Ibarra to himself, as he went slowly

away from the door.


	21. 20

CHAPTER XX

THE PROCESSION.

In the evening, by the light of lanterns hung from windows, to the

ringing of bells and bursting of bombs, the procession started for

the fourth time.

The Governor General left the house on foot, in company with his two

adjutants, Captain Tiago, the Alcalde, the alferez, and Ibarra. The

Civil Guards and the officials of the town preceded them and cleared

the way. His Excellency had been invited to witness the procession

from the house of the gobernadorcillo, in front of which a platform

had been erected for the recitation of a loa, or religious poem,

in honor of the Patron Saint. Ibarra had previously declined with

pleasure an invitation to hear this poetical composition, as he had

preferred to witness the procession from the house of Captain Tiago

with Maria Clara and her friends. But, as His Excellency wished to

hear the loa, there was no other remedy for Ibarra but to console

himself with the hope of seeing her at the theatre.

The procession was headed by three sacristans carrying silver

candlesticks. The children of the school, accompanied by their

teacher, followed. Then came the small boys, with colored paper

lanterns fastened to the ends of pieces of bamboo, each more or

less adorned according to the caprices of the boy, for this part

of the illumination was paid for entirely by themselves. However,

they fulfilled this duty with a great deal of pleasure.

In the midst of it all, men serving as police, passed to and fro to

see that the files of the procession were not broken or the people

jammed together in a crowd. For this purpose they used their wands

and inflicted some hard blows, thus managing to add to the brilliancy

of the procession, to the edification of souls and to the glory of

religious pomp.

At the same time that the officers inflicted these sanctified floggings

with their wands free of charge, others, to console those who had

been punished, distributed wax and tallow candles, also free of charge.

"Senor Alcalde," said Ibarra, in a low voice, "do they inflict those

blows to punish the sinners or merely for pleasure?"

"You are right, Senor Ibarra," replied the Governor General, who had

overheard his question. "This spectacle ... barbarous ... astonishing

to those who come from other countries, ought to be prohibited."

Although it cannot be explained, the first saint who appeared

was San Juan el Baptisto. On seeing him, you would say that the

cousin of Our Saviour did not enjoy any great renown among these

people. He had slender feet and legs and the face of a hermit, and

was carried along on an old wooden litter. In marked contrast to the

representation of San Juan, was that of San Francisco, the founder of

the great order. The latter was drawn in a car, and, as Tasio said:

"What a car! How many lights and glass lanterns! Why, I have never

seen you surrounded by so many illuminations, Giovanni Bernardone! And

what music!"

Behind the music came a standard representing the same saint, but with

seven wings. It was carried by the brothers of the Third Order, dressed

in guingon and praying in a loud and mournful voice. The next in the

procession was Santa Maria Magdalena, a most beautiful image with

an abundant growth of hair, a handkerchief of embroidered pina cloth

between her ring-covered fingers, and wearing a dress of silk adorned

with gold-leaf. Lights and incense surrounded her. The glass tears from

her eyes reflected the colors of the colored fire which was burned here

and there, giving a fantastic aspect to the procession. Consequently,

the sinful saint appeared to be weeping now green, now red and now blue

tears. The people did not begin to burn these colored lights till San

Francisco was passing; San Juan el Baptisto did not enjoy this honor,

passing by quickly, ashamed perhaps to go dressed in skins among so

many saints covered with gold and precious jewels.

"There goes our saint!" cried the daughter of the gobernadorcillo to

her visitors. "I loaned her my rings, but I did it to get to Heaven."

Those carrying the illuminations stopped near the platform to hear

the loa. The saints did the same. They and their carriers wanted

to hear the verses. Those who carried San Juan, tired of waiting,

squatted down in the characteristic Filipino manner, and found it

convenient to leave their burden on the ground.

"You'll get into trouble," objected one.

"Jesus! In the sacristy, they leave him in a corner among

spider-webs..."

After Magdalena came the women. They differed from the men in

arrangement. Instead of the children, the old women came first and

finally the unmarried women. Behind these came the car of the Virgin,

and behind that, the curate under his canopy. Father Damaso gave the

following reason for putting the young women next to the Virgin's

car: "The Virgin likes young women, but not old ones." Of course,

this explanation caused many of the older women to make wry faces,

but that did not change the taste of the Virgin.

San Diego followed Magdalena, but he did not seem to rejoice over the

fact, for he was as precise in his behavior as on the morning when he

followed along behind San Francisco. Six brothers of the Third Order

drew the car. San Diego stopped before the platform and awaited for

the people to salute him.

But it was necessary to await the car which contained the image of the

Virgin. Preceding this car were some people dressed in a fantastic

manner which made children cry and babies scream. In the midst of

that dark mass of habits, hoods and girdles, to the sound of that

monotonous and nasal prayer, one could see, like white jessamine,

like fresh pansies among old rags, twelve young lassies dressed in

white, crowned with flowers, with hair curled and eyes bright as the

necklaces they wore. Seizing hold of two wide blue bands which were

tied to the car of the Virgin, they drew it along, reminding one of

doves drawing the car of Spring.

And now when the images were all attentive, when this child and

that had been slapped sufficiently to make him listen to the verses,

when everybody had his eyes fixed on the half open curtain, at last,

an aaaah! of admiration escaped from the lips of all.

And the sight merited it. A young child appeared with wings, riding

boots, a cordon over its shoulder, a belt and a plumed hat.

"The Senor Alcalde!" cried some one, but the young prodigy recited

a poem in such a manner that the Alcalde was not offended at the

comparison.

The procession then continued. San Juan followed out his bitter career.

As the Virgin passed before the house of Captain Tiago, a heavenly song

greeted her like the words of an archangel. It was a sweet, melodious,

supplicating voice, weeping the Ave Maria of Gounod. The music of

the procession was silenced, the praying ceased, and Father Salvi

himself stopped. The voice trembled and brought tears to the cheeks

of those who heard it. That voice expressed more than a salutation,

a prayer, or a plaint.

From the window, where he was viewing the procession, Ibarra heard

the voice, and melancholy took possession of his heart. He understood

what that soul was suffering and what was expressed in that song. He

was afraid to think of the cause of that grief.

The Governor General found him pensive and sad.


	22. 21

CHAPTER XXI

DONA CONSOLACION.

Why were the windows in the alferez's house closed? Where was

the masculine face and the flannel shirt of the Medusa or Muse of

the Civil Guard while the procession was passing? Could she have

understood how unpleasant was the sight of the swelling veins of

her forehead, filled, it seemed, not with blood but with vinegar

and bile; of her large cigar, that worthy ornament of her red lips;

and of her envious look; could she have understood all of that, and,

giving way to a generous impulse, have refrained from disturbing the

gayety of the crowd by her sinister apparition?

Alas! Her generous impulses lived only in the golden age.

Her house was sad because other people were merry, as Sinang put

it. There neither lanterns nor flags could be seen. In fact, if the

sentry were not walking up and down in front of the gate, you would

have said that the house was unoccupied.

A feeble light illumined the disarranged sala, and made transparent

the oyster-shell windows filled with spider-webs and covered with

dust. The Senora, according to her custom, her hands folded, sat in

a wide arm-chair. She was dressed the same as every day, that is to

say, outrageously out of taste. In detail, she had a handkerchief

tied around her head, while short, slender locks of tangled hair

hung down on either side; a blue flannel shirt over another shirt

which should have been white; and a faded-out skirt which moulded

itself to her slender thighs as she sat with her legs crossed and

nervously wiggled her foot. From her mouth, came big puffs of smoke,

which she fastidiously blew up in the space toward which she looked

when her eyes were open.

That morning the Senora had not heard mass, not because she had not

cared to hear it, for on the contrary she wanted to show herself to

the multitude and to hear the sermon, but because her husband had not

permitted her to do so. As was usually the case, his prohibition was

accompanied by two or three insults, oaths and threats of kicking. The

alferez understood that his "female" dressed herself in a ridiculous

manner, and that it was not fitting to expose her to the eyes of the

people from the capital nor even the country districts.

But she did not understand it that way. She knew that she was

beautiful, attractive, that she had the manners of a queen and that

she dressed much better and more gorgeously than Maria Clara herself,

though to be sure the latter wore a tapis over her skirt while she

wore only the skirt. The alferez had to say to her: "Oh, shut your

mouth or I'll kick you till you do!"

Dona Consolacion did not care to be kicked, but she planned revenge.

The dark face of the Senora never had inspired confidence in anybody,

not even when she painted it. That morning she was exceptionally

uneasy, and as she walked from one end of the sala to the other, in

silence and as if meditating something terrible, her eyes shone like

those of a serpent about to be crushed. Her look was cold, luminous,

and penetrating and had something vicious, loathsome and cruel in it.

The slightest defect in anything, the most insignificant or unusual

noise brought forth an obscene and infamous expression; but no one

responded. To offer an excuse was a crime.

So the day passed. Encountering no obstacle in her way-her husband

had been invited out-she became saturated with bile.

Everything around bent itself before her. She met no resistance,

there was nothing upon which she could discharge the vials of her

wrath. Soldiers and servants crawled before her.

That she might not hear the rejoicing going on outside, she ordered

the windows to be closed, and charged the sentry not to permit any

one to enter. She tied a handkerchief around her head to prevent

it from bursting; and, in spite of the fact that the sun was still

shining brightly, she ordered the lamps lighted.

A madwoman who had been detained for disturbing the public peace was

taken to the barracks. The alferez was not there at the time and the

unhappy woman had to pass the night seated on a bench. The following

day the alferez returned. Fearing lest the unhappy woman should become

the butt of the crowd during the fiesta, he ordered the soldiers who

were guarding her to treat her with pity and give her something to

eat. Thus the demented woman passed two days.

Whether the proximity to Captain Tiago's house made it possible for

the sad song of Maria Clara to reach her ears, whether other strains

of music awoke in her memories of old songs, or whether there was

some other cause for it, at any rate, the madwoman began that night

to sing with a sweet and melancholy voice the songs of her youth. The

soldiers heard her and kept silent. Those songs brought back memories

of the old times.

Dona Consolacion also heard it in her sorrow, and became interested

in the person who was singing.

"Tell her to come upstairs at once!" she ordered, after some seconds

of meditation. Something like a smile passed over her dry lips.

They brought the woman and she presented herself without any

discomposure, and without manifesting either fear or surprise.

"Orderly, tell this woman in Tagalog to sing!" said the alfereza. "She

don't understand me; she does not know Spanish."

The demented woman understood the orderly and sang the song "Night."

Dona Consolacion listened to the beginning with a mocking smile which

disappeared gradually from her lips. She became attentive, then

more serious and pensive. The woman's voice, the sentiment of the

verses and the song itself impressed her. That dry and burning heart

was perhaps softened. She understood the song well: "Sadness, cold,

and dampness, wrapped in the mantle of Night descend from the sky,"

as the folk song puts it. It seemed that they were also descending

upon her heart. "The withered flower which during the day has paraded

its dress, desirous of applause and full of vanity, at nightfall

repenting, makes an effort to raise its faded petals to the sky, and

begs for a little shade in which to hide itself, so as to die without

the mockery of the light which saw it in its pomp, to die without

the vanity of its pride being seen, and begging for a drop of dew,

to weep over it. The night bird, leaving its solitary retreat in the

hollow of the old tree, disturbs the melancholy of the forests..."

"No, no! Do not sing!" exclaimed the alfereza in perfect Tagalog

and raising to her feet somewhat agitated. "Don't sing! Those verses

hurt me!"

The demented woman stopped. The orderly muttered "Bah!" and exclaimed

"She knows how to pata Tagalog!" and stood looking at the senora full

of surprise.

The Muse understood that she had been caught, and was ashamed. As

her nature was not that of a woman, her shame took the form of rage

and hatred. She pointed out the door to the impudent orderly and with

a kick closed it behind him. She took several turns about the room,

twisting a whip between her nervous hands, and then, stopping suddenly

in front of the demented woman, said in Spanish: "Dance!"

The demented one did not move.

"Dance! Dance!" she repeated in a threatening voice.

The poor woman looked at the Senora, her eyes devoid of expression. The

alfereza raised one arm and then the other, shaking them in a

menacing way.

She then leaped up in the air, and jumped around urging the other woman

to imitate her. The band in the procession could be heard playing

a slow, majestic march, but the Senora, leaping about furiously

was keeping time to different music than that the band was playing,

that music which resounded within her. A curious look appeared in the

madwoman's eyes, and a weak smile moved her pale lips. She liked the

Senora's dancing.

The alfereza stopped dancing as if ashamed. She raised the whip,

that terrible whip made in Ulango and improved by the alferez by

winding wire around it, that same terrible whip which the ladrones

and soldiers knew so well.

"Now it is your turn to dance ... dance!"

And she began to whip lightly the demented woman's bare feet.

The pale face contracted with pain, and she was obliged to defend

herself from the blows by her hands.

"Come! Go ahead!" she exclaimed with savage delight, and she passed

from lento to allegro-vivace in the use of her whip.

The unhappy woman screamed and quickly raised her feet.

"You have got to dance, you d-d Indian!" exclaimed the Senora and

the whip whizzed and whistled.

The woman let herself sink to the floor and tried to cover her

legs with her hands, at the same time looking with wild eyes at her

tormentor. Two heavy lashes on her back made her rise again. Now it was

no longer a scream; it was a howl which escaped from the unfortunate

woman. The thin shirt was torn, the skin broke open and the blood

oozed out.

The sight of blood excites a tiger; so, too, the sight of the blood

of her victim infuriated Dona Consolacion.

"Dance! dance! Curse you! D-n you! Dance! Cursed be the mother

who bore you!" she cried. "Dance, or I'll kill you by whipping you

to death!"

Then the alfereza, taking the woman with one hand and whipping her

with another, began to jump and dance.

The insane woman understood her at last and went on moving her arms

regardless of time or tune. A smile of satisfaction contracted the

lips of the teacher. It was like the smile of a female Mephistopheles

who had succeeded in developing a good pupil; it was full of hatred,

contempt, mockery and cruelty; a coarse laugh could not have expressed

more.

Absorbed in the enjoyment which the spectacle afforded her, she did

not hear her husband coming, until he opened the door with a kick.

The alferez appeared, pale and gloomy. He saw what was going on there

and looked daggers at his wife. She did not move from her tracks and

stood smiling in a cynical way.

In the gentlest manner possible, he put his hand on the shoulder of

the dancing woman and made her stop. The demented woman sighed and

slowly sat down on the blood-covered floor.

The silence continued. The alferez was breathing heavily. His wife

was observing him with her questioning eyes. She seized the whip

and in a calm and measured tone asked him: "What's the matter with

you? You have not said 'good evening' to me."

The alferez, without replying, called the orderly.

"Take this woman," he said, "and have Marta give her another shirt

and take care of her. Find her good food, and a good bed... Let him

look out who treats her badly!"

After carefully closing the door, he turned the key in the lock and

approached his senora.

"You want me to smash you?" he said, clenching his fists.

"What's the matter with you?" asked she, retreating a step or two.

"What's the matter with me?" he shouted, in a thundering voice, and,

giving vent to an oath, showed her a paper covered with scribbling. He

continued:

"Didn't you write this letter to the Alcalde, saying that I am paid

for permitting the gambling, d-n you? I don't know how I can keep

from smashing you."

"Go ahead! Try it if you dare!" said she, with a mocking smile. "He

who smashes me has got to be more of a man than you!"

He heard the insult, but he saw the whip. He seized one of the plates

which were on the table and threw it at her head. The woman, accustomed

to these fights, ducked quickly and the plate was shivered to pieces

against the wall. A glass, a cup, and a knife shared the same fortune.

"Coward!" she cried. "You dare not come near me!"

And then she spat at him to exasperate him more. The man, blind and

howling with rage, threw himself on her, but she, with wonderful

rapidity, struck him a few blows across the face with the whip, and

quickly escaped. Closing the door of her room with a slam, she locked

herself in. Roaring with rage and pain the alferez followed her, but,

coming up against the door, he could do nothing but belch forth a

string of blasphemies.

"Cursed be your ancestors, you swine! Open, d-n you! Open that door

or I'll break your skull!" he howled, pounding and kicking the panels.

Dona Consolacion did not reply. A moving of chairs and trunks could

be heard, as though some one was trying to raise a barricade of

household furniture. The house fairly shook with the oaths and kicks

of the husband.

"Don't you come in! Don't you come in!" she said, in a bitter

voice. "If you show yourself, I'll shoot you!"

The husband calmed down, little by little, and contented himself with

pacing from one end of the sala to the other like a wild animal in

its cage.

"Go and cool your head!" continued the woman in mockery. She seemed

to have concluded her preparations for defense.

"I swear that when I catch you, no one-not even God-will see you

again! I'll smash you so fine."

"Yes! Now you can say what you wish. You would not let me go to

mass. You would not let me fulfill my duty to God!" she said with

such sarcasm as she alone knew how to use.

The alferez took his helmet, straightened out his clothes, and walked

away several paces. But, at the end of several minutes, he returned

without making the slightest noise, for he had taken off his boots. The

servants, accustomed to these spectacles, paid no attention to them,

but the novelty of this move with the boots attracted their notice

and they gave each other the wink.

The alferez sat down on a chair next to the door and had the patience

to wait more than half an hour.

"Have you really gone out or are you there, you he-goat?" asked a

voice from time to time, changing the epithets but raising the tone.

Finally, she commenced to take away the furniture from her

barricade. He heard the noise and smiled.

"Orderly! Has the senor gone out?" cried Dona Consolacion.

The orderly at a signal from the alferez, replied: "Yes, senora,

he has gone out!"

He could hear her laugh triumphantly. She drew back the bolt. The

husband arose to his feet slowly; the door was opened.

A cry, the noise of a body falling, oaths, howling, swearing, blows,

hoarse voices. Who can describe what took place in the darkness of

the bedroom?

The orderly, going out to the kitchen, made a very expressive gesture

to the cook.

"And now you'll catch it!" said the latter.

"I? No, sir. The town will, not I. She asked me if he had gone out,

not if he had returned."


	23. 22

CHAPTER XXII

MIGHT AND RIGHT.

It was about ten o'clock at night. The last rockets lazily soared

into the dark sky, where paper balloons shone like new stars. Some of

the fireworks had set fire to houses and were threatening them with

destruction; for this reason men could be seen on the ridges of the

roofs carrying buckets of water and long bamboo poles with cloths tied

on the ends. Their dark shadows seemed descended from ethereal space

to be present at the rejoicings of human beings. An enormous number of

wheels had been burned, also castles, bulls, caraboas and other pieces

of fireworks, and finally a great volcano, which surpassed in beauty

and grandeur anything that the inhabitants of San Diego had ever seen.

Now the people turned in one great crowd toward the plaza to attend

the last theatrical performance. Here and there could be seen the

colored Bengal lights, fantastically illuminating groups of merry

people. The small boys were making use of their torches to search

for unexploded firecrackers in the grass, or, in fact, for anything

else that might be of use to them. But the music was the signal and

all abandoned the lawn for the theatre.

The large platform was splendidly illuminated. Thousands of lights

surrounded the pillars and hung from the roof, while a number, in

pyramid-shaped groups, were arranged on the floor of the stage. An

employee attended to these and whenever he would come forward to

regulate them, the public would whistle at him and shout: "There he

is! There he is now!"

In front of the stage, the orchestra tuned its instruments, and

behind the musicians sat the principal people of the town. Spaniards

and rich visitors were occupying the reserved chairs. The public,

the mass of people without titles or rank, filled the rest of the

plaza. Some carried with them benches, not so much for seats as

to remedy their lack of stature. When they stood upon them, rude

protests were made on the part of those without benches or things to

stand on. Then they would get down immediately, but soon mount up on

their pedestals again as if nothing had happened.

Comings and goings, cries, exclamations, laughter, squibs that had

been slow in going off, and firecrackers increased the tumult. Here,

a foot broke through a bench, and some one fell to the floor, while

the crowd laughed and made a show of him who had come so far to see

a show. There, they fought and disputed over positions, and, a little

farther on, the noise of breaking bottles and glasses could be heard:

it was Andeng. She was carrying drinks and refreshments on a tray

which she was balancing with both hands, but she had met her lover

and he tried to take advantage of her helplessness by tickling...

The teniente mayor presided at the production since the gobernadorcillo

was fonder of monte.

Maria Clara and her friends had arrived, and Don Filipo received

them, and accompanied them to their seats. Behind came the curate

with another Franciscan and some Spaniards. With the curate were some

other people who make it their business to escort the friars.

"May God reward them in another life," said the old man, referring

to them as he walked away from Maria Clara's party.

The performance began with Chananay and Marianito in Crispinoe la

Comare. Everybody had eyes and ears intent upon the stage, except

one, Father Salvi. He seemed to have come to the theatre for no other

purpose than to watch Maria Clara, whose sadness gave to her beauty

an air so ideal and interesting that everybody looked upon her with

rapture. But the Franciscan's eyes, deeply hidden in their hollow

orbits, spoke no words of rapture. In that sombre look one could read

something desperately sad. With such eyes Cain might have contemplated

from afar the Paradise whose delights his mother had pictured to him.

The act was just ending when Ibarra arrived. His presence occasioned

a buzz of conversation. The attention of everybody was fixed on him

and on the curate.

But the young man did not seem to be aware of it, for he greeted

Maria Clara and her friends with naturalness and sat down at their

side. The only one who spoke was Sinang.

"Did you see the volcano when they touched it off?" she asked.

"No, my little friend. I had to accompany the Governor General."

"Well, that is too bad! The curate came with us and he was telling

us stories about condemned people. What do you think? Doesn't he do

it to make us afraid so that we cannot enjoy ourselves? How does it

appear to you?"

The curate arose and approached Don Filipo, with whom he seemed to

be having a lively discussion. He was speaking with animation and

Don Filipo replying with moderation and in a low voice.

"I am sorry that I cannot please Your Reverence," said the

latter. "Senor Ibarra is one of the heaviest tax-payers and has a

right to sit here as long as he does not disturb the public order."

"But is not scandalizing good Christians disturbing the public

order? You let a wolf into the flock. You will be held responsible

for this before God and before the authorities of the town."

"I always hold myself responsible for acts which emanate from my own

will, Father," replied Don Filipo, slightly inclining his head. "But

my little authority does not give me power to meddle in religious

affairs. Those who wish to avoid contact with him do not have to

speak to him. Senor Ibarra does not force himself on any one."

"But he affords danger. He who loves danger perishes in it."

"I don't see any danger, Father. The Alcalde and the Governor General,

my superiors, have been talking with him all the afternoon, and it

is not for me to give them a lesson."

"If you don't put him out of here, we will leave."

"I am very, very sorry, but I cannot put any one out of here."

The curate repented having said what he did, but now there was no

alternative. He made a signal to his companion, who laboriously rose

to his feet and both went out. The persons attached to the friars

imitated the priests, not, however, without first glancing with hatred

at Ibarra.

Murmurs and whispers increased. Then various persons approached and

saluted the young man and said:

"We are with you. Take no notice of them."

"Who are 'them'?" he asked with surprise.

"Those who have gone out in order to avoid contact with you."

"To avoid contact with me? Contact with me?"

"Yes, they say that you are excommunicated."

Ibarra, surprised, did not know what to say and looked around him. He

saw Maria Clara, who was hiding her face behind her fan.

"But is it possible?" he exclaimed at last. "Are we still in the

darkness of the Middle Ages? So that-"

And turning to the young women and changing his tone, he said:

"Excuse me; I have forgotten an appointment. I will return to accompany

you home."

"Stay!" said Sinang. "Yeyeng is going to dance in the 'La

Calandria.' She dances divinely."

"I cannot, my little friend, but I will certainly return."

The murmurs increased.

While Yeyeng, dressed in the style of the lower class of Madrid, was

coming on the stage with the remark: "Da Uste su permiso?" (Do you

give your permission?) and as Carvajal was replying to her "Pase uste

adelante" (Pass forward), two soldiers of the Civil Guard approached

Don Filipo, asking him to suspend the performance.

"And what for?" asked he, surprised at the request.

"Because the alferez and his Senora have been fighting and they

cannot sleep."

"You tell the alferez that we have permission from the Alcalde,

and that no one in the town has any authority over him, not even the

gobernadorcillo, who is my on-ly su-per-ior."

"Well, you will have to suspend the performance," repeated the

soldiers.

Don Filipo turned his back to them. The guards marched off.

In order not to disturb the general tranquillity, Don Filipo said

not a word about the matter to any one.

After a piece of light opera, which was heartily applauded, the Prince

Villardo presented himself on the stage, and challenged all the Moros,

who had imprisoned his father, to a fight. The hero threatened to

cut off all their heads at a single blow and to send them all to

the moon. Fortunately for the Moros, who were making ready to fight

to the tune of the "Riego Hymn," [15] a tumult intervened. All of a

sudden, the orchestra stopped playing and the musicians made a rush

for the stage, throwing their instruments in all directions. The

brave Villardo was not expecting such a move, and, taking them

for allies of the Moros he also threw down his sword and shield and

began to run. The Moros, seeing this terrible giant fleeing, found it

convenient to imitate him. Cries, sighs, imprecations and blasphemies

filled the air. The people ran, trampled over each other, the lights

were put out, and the glass lamps with their cocoanut oil and little

wicks were flying through the air. "Tulisanes! Tulisanes!" cried

some. "Fire! Fire! Ladrones!" cried others. Women and children wept,

chairs and spectators were rolled over on the floor in the midst of

the confusion, rush and tumult.

"What has happened?"

Two Civil Guards with sticks in hand had gone after the musicians

in order to put an end to the spectacle. The teniente mayor, with

the cuaderilleros, [16] armed with their old sabers, had managed to

arrest the two Civil Guards in spite of their resistance.

"Take them to the tribunal!" shouted Don Filipo. "Be careful not to

let them get away!"

Ibarra had returned and had sought out Maria Clara. The terrified

young maidens, trembling and pale, were clinging closely to him. Aunt

Isabel was reciting the litanies in Latin.

The crowd having recovered a little from the fright and some one

having explained what had caused the rush and tumult, indignation

arose in everyone's breast. Stones rained upon the Civil Guards who

were being conducted to the tribunal by the cuaderilleros. Some one

proposed that they burn the barracks of the Civil Guards and that

they roast Dona Consolacion and the alferez alive.

"That is all that they are good for," cried a woman, rolling up her

sleeves and stretching out her arms. "They can disturb the people

but they persecute none but honorable men. They do nothing with the

tulisanes and the gamblers. Look at them! Let us burn the cuartel."

Somebody had been wounded in the arm and was asking for confession. A

plaintive voice was heard coming from under an upset bench. It was

a poor musician. The stage was filled with the players and people

of the town and they were all talking at the same time. There

was Chananay, dressed in the costume of Leonor in the "Trovador,"

talking in corrupted Spanish with Ratia, who was in a school teacher's

costume. There too, was Yeyeng, dressed in a silk wrapper, talking

with the Prince Villardo. There too, Balbino and the Moros, trying

to console the musicians who were more or less sorry sights. Some

Spaniards were walking from one place to another, arguing with every

one they met.

But a nucleus for a mob already formed. Don Filipo knew what was

their intention and tried to stop them.

"Do not break the peace!" he shouted. "To-morrow we will demand

satisfaction: we will have justice. I will take the responsibility

for our getting justice."

"No!" some replied. "They did the same thing in Calamba. The same

thing was promised, but the Alcalde did nothing. We want justice done

by our own hands. To the cuartel!"

In vain the teniente mayor argued with them. The group that had

gathered showed no signs of changing its attitude or purpose. Don

Filipo looked about him, in search of help. He saw Ibarra.

"Senor Ibarra, for my sake, as a favor, hold them while I seek some

cuaderilleros."

"What can I do?" asked the young man, perplexed. But the teniente

mayor was already in the distance.

Ibarra in turn looked about him, for he knew not whom. Fortunately, he

thought he discerned Elias, in the crowd, but not taking an active part

in it. Ibarra ran up to him, seized his arm and said to him in Spanish:

"For heaven's sake! Do something, if you can! I cannot do anything."

The pilot must have understood, for he lost himself in the mob.

Lively discussions were heard mingled with strong interjections. Soon

the mob began to disperse, each one of the participants becoming less

hostile. And it was time for them to do so, for the cuaderilleros

were coming to the scene with fixed bayonets.

In the meantime, what was the curate doing?

Father Salvi had not gone to bed. Standing on foot, immovable and

leaning his face against the shutter, he was looking toward the plaza

and, from time to time, a suppressed sigh escaped his breast. If the

light of his lamp had not been so dim, perhaps one might have seen that

his eyes were filling with tears. Thus he stood for almost an hour.

The tumult in the plaza roused him from this state. Full of surprise,

he followed with his eyes the people as they rushed to and fro in

confusion. Their voices and cries he could vaguely hear even at that

distance. One of the servants came running in breathlessly and informed

him what was going on.

A thought entered his mind. Amid confusion and tumult libertines

take advantage of the fright and the weakness of woman. All flee to

save themselves; nobody thinks of anyone else; the women faint and

their cries are not heard; they fall; are trampled over; fear and

fright overcome modesty, and under cover of darkness... He fancied

he could see Ibarra carrying Maria Clara fainting in his arms, and

then disappearing in the darkness.

With leaps and bounds, he went down the stairs without hat, or cane,

and, almost like a crazy person, turned toward the plaza.

There he found some Spaniards reproving the soldiers. He looked

toward the seats which Maria Clara and her friends had been occupying,

and saw that they were vacant.

"Father curate! Father curate!" shouted the Spaniards to him, but he

took no notice and ran on in the direction of the house of Captain

Tiago. There he recovered his breath. He saw through the transparent

shade, a shadow-that adorable shadow, so graceful and delicate in

its contour-that of Maria Clara. He could also see another shadow,

that of her aunt carrying cups and glasses.

"Well!" he muttered to himself. "It seems that she has only fallen

ill."

Aunt Isabel afterward closed the shell windows and the graceful shadow

could no longer be seen.

The curate walked away from there without seeing the crowd. He was

looking at the bust of a beautiful maiden which he had before his

eyes, a maiden sleeping and breathing sweetly. Her eyelids were shaded

by long lashes, which formed graceful curves like those on Rafael's

virgins. Her small mouth was smiling, and her whole countenance seemed

to breathe virginity, purity and innocence. That sweet face of hers

on the background of the white draperies of the bed was a vision like

the head of a cherubim among the clouds. His impassioned imagination

went on and pictured to him... Who can describe all that a burning

brain can conceive?


	24. 23

CHAPTER XXIII

TWO VISITORS.

Ibarra found his mind in such a state that it was impossible for

him to sleep. So, in order to divert himself and to drive away the

gloomy idea which distracted his mind, he began work in his solitary

laboratory. Morning came upon him, still at work making mixtures and

compounds to the action of which he submitted pieces of cane and other

substances, and afterward enclosed them in numbered and sealed flasks.

A servant entered, announcing the arrival of a peasant.

"Let him enter!" said he, without even turning to look.

Elias entered and remained standing in silence.

"Ah! is it you?" Ibarra exclaimed in Tagalog on recognizing

him. "Excuse me if I have kept you waiting. I was not aware of your

presence. I was making an important experiment."

"I do not wish to disturb you!" replied the young pilot. "I have come

in the first place, to ask you if you want anything from the province

of Batangas, whither I am going now; and, in the second place, to

give you some bad news."

Ibarra looked inquiringly at the pilot.

"The daughter of Captain Tiago is ill," added Elias quietly, "but

the illness is not serious."

"I had already feared it," responded Ibarra. "Do you know what the

illness is?"

"A fever. Now, if you have nothing to order-"

"Thanks, my friend. I wish you a good journey, but before you go,

permit me to ask you a question. If it is indiscreet, do not answer

me."

Elias bowed.

"How were you able to quiet the mob last night?" asked Ibarra, fixing

his eyes on him.

"In a very simple way," replied Elias, with entire frankness. "At the

head of it were two brothers whose father died from the effects of a

whipping at the hands of the Civil Guard. One day I had the fortune

to save them from the same hands into which their father fell, and

for this both are under obligations to me. Last night I went to them,

and requested them to dissuade the others from their purpose."

"And those two brothers whose father died by being whipped to death?"

"They will end their lives in the same way," replied Elias in a low

voice. "When adversity has marked itself once on a family, all the

members have to perish. When the lightning strikes a tree, it reduces

it all to ashes."

And Elias, seeing that Ibarra was silent, took his leave.

The latter on finding himself alone, lost the serenity of countenance

which he had preserved in the presence of the pilot, and grief

manifested itself in his face.

"I-I have made her suffer," he muttered.

He quickly dressed himself and descended the stairs.

A little man, dressed in mourning, with a large scar on his left cheek,

meekly saluted him, stopping him on his way.

"What do you wish?" Ibarra asked him.

"Senor, my name is Lucas. I am the brother of the man who was killed

yesterday during the ceremony when the stone was being laid."

"Ah! You have my sympathy-and, well?"

"Senor, I wish to know how much you are going to pay my brother's

family."

"How much I am going to pay?" repeated the young man without being

able to conceal a bored expression. "We will talk that over. Come

back this afternoon, for I am busy to-day."

"Only tell me how much you are going to pay," insisted Lucas.

"I have told you that we would talk about that some other time. I'm

too busy to-day," said Ibarra, impatiently.

"You haven't time now, senor?" asked Lucas with bitterness and putting

himself in front of the young man. "You do not have time to occupy

yourself about the dead?"

"Come this afternoon, my good fellow!" repeated Ibarra, restraining

himself. "To-day I have to go and see a sick person."

"Ah! and you forget the dead for a sick person? Do you think that

because we are poor-"

Ibarra looked at him and cut off what he was saying.

"Don't try my patience!" said he, and went on his way. Lucas stood

looking at him, with a smile on his face, full of hatred.

"You do not know that you are a grandson of the man who exposed my

father to the sun!" he muttered between his teeth. "You have the very

same blood in your veins!"

And, changing his tone he added:

"But if you pay well, we are friends."


	25. 24

CHAPTER XXIV

EPISODE IN ESPADANA'S LIFE.

The festival was over. The citizens found, just as every year, that

their treasury was poorer, that they had worked, perspired, and stayed

up nights without enjoying themselves, without acquiring new friends,

and in a word, had paid dearly for the noise and their headaches. But

it did not matter. The next year they would do the same thing, and

the same for the coming century, just as had always been the custom

to the present time.

Enough sadness reigned in Captain Tiago's house. All the windows were

closed; the people scarcely made a noise, and no one dared to speak

except in the kitchen. Maria Clara, the soul of the house, lay sick

in her bed.

"What do you think, Isabel? Shall I make a donation to the cross of

Tunasan or to the cross of Matahong?" asked the solicitous father

in a low voice. "The cross of Tunasan grows, but that of Matahong

sweats. Which do you think is the most miraculous?"

Isabel thought for a moment, moved her head and murmured: "To grow-to

grow is more miraculous than to sweat. We all sweat, but we do not

all grow."

"That is true, yes, Isabel, but bear in mind that for wood to sweat

when it is made into the leg of a chair is no small miracle. Well,

the best thing to do is to give alms to both crosses, so that neither

will feel resentful, and Maria Clara will recover more quickly. Are

the rooms in good order? You know that a new senor comes with the

doctors, a relative of Father Damaso by marriage. It is necessary

that nothing be lacking."

The two cousins, Sinang and Victoria, were at the other end of the

dining-room. They had come to keep company with the sick Maria. Andeng

was helping them clean up a tea service in order to serve tea.

"Do you know Doctor Espadana?" asked Maria Clara's foster sister,

directing her question to Victoria.

"No!" replied the latter. "The only thing that I know about him is

that he charges very dearly, according to Captain Tiago."

"Then he ought to be very good," said Andeng. "The one who performed

the operation on the stomach of Dona Marta charged a big price,

but he was very wise."

"You goose!" exclaimed Sinang. "Not all who charge high prices are

wise. Look at Doctor Guevara. He did not know how to aid a woman in

childbirth, but after cutting off the child's head, he collected one

hundred pesos from the widower. What he did know was how to charge."

"What do you know about it?" her cousin asked, giving her a jab with

her elbow.

"Why shouldn't I know about it? The husband, who is a wood-sawyer,

after losing his wife, had to lose his house also, for the Alcalde was

a friend of the doctor's and made him pay. Why shouldn't I know? My

father loaned him money so that he could make a trip to Santa Cruz."

A coach stopped before the house and cut off all the conversation.

Captain Tiago, followed by Aunt Isabel, ran downstairs to receive

the new arrivals. They were the doctor, Don Tiburcio de Espadana, his

wife, Doctora Dona Victorina de los Reyes de de Espadana; and a young

Spaniard. The latter had a sympathetic face and a pleasing appearance.

The doctora wore a silk gown, embroidered with flowers, and on her

hat, a large parrot half crushed among trimmings of red and blue

ribbons. The dust of the road had mingled with the rice powder on

her cheeks, strongly accentuating her wrinkles. She was leaning on

the arm of her lame husband.

"I have the pleasure to present to you our cousin, Don Alfonso Linares

de Espadana," said Dona Victorina, pointing toward the young man. "The

gentleman is a god-son of a relative of Father Damaso, and is private

secretary to all the ministers."

The young man bowed gracefully. Captain Tiago almost kissed his hand.

Dona Victorina was a woman of about forty-five summers, which,

according to her arithmetical calculations, was equivalent to

thirty-two springs. She had been pretty in her youth, but, raging over

her own beauty, she had looked with disdain on many Filipino adorers,

for her aspirations were for the other race. She had not cared to

entrust her little white hand to anybody, but this not on account

of lack of confidence on her part, for she had entrusted rings and

jewels of inestimable value to various foreign adventurers.

Six months before the time of the happenings of which we are writing,

she saw her beautiful dream realized, that dream of her whole life,

on account of which she had disdained all manner of flattery and even

the promises of love, which had been cooed into her ears, or sung

in serenades by Captain Tiago. Late, it is true, she had realized

her dream; but she knew well the proverb-"Better late than never,"

and consoled herself by repeating it again and again. "There is no

complete happiness on this earth," was her other favorite proverb, but

neither of these ever passed her lips in the presence of other people.

Dona Victorina, after passing her first, second, third and fourth youth

in fishing in the sea of men for the object of her dreams, had at last

to content herself with what fortune cared to give her. The poor little

woman, if she, instead of having passed thirty-two springs, had not

passed more than thirty-one-the difference according to her arithmetic

was very great-would have thrown back the prize which Destiny offered

her, and preferred to wait for another more in conformity with her

tastes. But, as the man proposed and necessity disposed it so, for she

needed a husband very badly, she was compelled to content herself with

a poor man, who had been driven by necessity to leave the Province

of Estremadura in Spain. He, after wandering about the world for six

or seven months, a modern Ulysses, found at last in the island of

Luzon, hospitality, money, and a faded Calypso, his better half-but

alas! a bitter half. He was known as the unhappy Tiburcio Espadana,

and, although he was thirty-five years old and seemed even older,

he was, however, younger than Dona Victorina, who was only thirty-two.

He had come to the Philippines in the capacity of clerk in the

custom house, but after all the sea-sickness of the voyage and

after fracturing a leg on the way, he had the bad luck to receive

his discharge fifteen days after his arrival. He was left without a

single cuarto.

Distrusting the sea, he did not wish to return to Spain without having

made a fortune. So he decided to devote himself to something. Spanish

pride did not permit him to do any manual labor. The poor man would

have worked with pleasure to have earned an honorable living, but the

prestige of the Spaniard did not permit this, nor did that prestige

provide him with the necessities of life.

At first he lived at the expense of some of his countrymen, but,

as Tiburcio had some self-respect, the bread was sour to him, and

instead of getting fat he grew thin. As he had neither knowledge of

any science, money nor recommendations, his countrymen, in order to

get rid of him, advised him to go to some of the provinces and pass

himself off as a Doctor of Medicine. At first, he did not like the

idea, and opposed the plan, for although he had been a servant in the

San Carlos Hospital, he had not learned anything about the science of

healing, his duty having been to dust off the benches and light the

fires, and, even in this work, he had served only a short time. But

as necessity was pressing him hard, and as his friends pointed out the

vanity of his scruples, he took their advice, went into the provinces

and began to visit the sick, charging as much for his services as

his conscience permitted. Later on he began to charge dearly and

to put a high price on his visits. On this account, he was at once

taken to be a great doctor and would probably have made his fortune,

had not the attention of the Protective Medical Society of Manila,

been called to his exorbitant charges and to his harmful competition.

Private citizens and professors interceded in his behalf. "Man!" said

the zealous Doctor C. in speaking of him. "Let him make his little

money. Let him make his little six or seven thousand pesos. He will be

able to return to his native land then and live in peace. What does

it matter to you? Let him deceive the unwary natives. Then they may

become smarter. He is a poor, unhappy fellow. Do not take the bread

from his mouth. Be a good Spaniard!"

Doctor C. was a good Spaniard and he winked at the matter. But when the

facts reached the ears of the people, they began to lose confidence in

him, and little by little Don Tiburcio Espadana lost his clientage,

and found himself almost obliged to beg for bread day by day. Then

it was that he learned from a friend of his, who was also a friend

of Dona Victorina about the position of that woman, and about her

patriotism and good heart. Don Tiburcio saw in her a bit of blue sky

and asked to be presented.

Dona Victorina and Don Tiburcio met. Tarde venientibus ossa, he would

have exclaimed if he had known Latin. She was no longer passable,

she was past. Her abundant hair had been reduced to a wad about the

size of an onion top, as the servants were wont to describe it. Her

face was full of wrinkles and her teeth had begun to loosen. Her eyes

had also suffered, and considerably, too. She had to squint frequently

when she cared to look off at a certain distance. Her character was

the only thing that had remained unchanged.

At the end of half an hour's conversation, they came to an

understanding and accepted each other. She would have preferred

a Spaniard less lame, less of a stammerer, less bald, one with

more teeth, one of more rank and social standing, or categoria,

as she called it. But this class of Spaniards never came to ask her

hand. She had heard, too, more than once that "opportunity is bald,"

and she honestly believed that Don Tiburcio was that very opportunity,

for on account of his dark days he had prematurely lost his hair. What

woman is not prudent at thirty-two?

Don Tiburcio, for his part, felt a vague melancholy when he thought

of his honeymoon. He smiled with resignation especially when he

called the phantom of hunger to his aid. He had never had ambition

or pretensions. His tastes were simple, his thoughts limited;

but his heart, untouched till then, had dreamed of a very different

divinity. In his youth when, tired by his day's labor, after a frugal

meal, he lay down on a poor bed, he dreamed of a smiling, affectionate

image. Afterward, when his sorrows and privations increased, the

years passed and his poetical dreams were not fulfilled, he thought

merely of a good woman, a willing hand, a worker, who might afford

him a small dowry, console him when tired from labor, and quarrel

with him from time to time. Yes, he was thinking of the quarrels as

a happiness! But when, obliged to wander from country to country,

in search no longer of a fortune, but of some commodity to sustain

his life for the remainder of his days; when, deluded by the accounts

of his countrymen who came from beyond the seas, he embarked for the

Philippines-then the vision of a housekeeper gave way to an image

of an arrogant mestiza, a beautiful native with large black eyes,

draped in silks and transparent garments, loaded with diamonds and

gold, offering him her love and her carriages.

He arrived in the Philippines and believed that he was about to

realize his dream, for the young women who, in silver-plated carriages,

frequented the Luneta and the Malecon, Manila's popular and fashionable

drives, looked at him with a certain curiosity. Later, when this

curiosity on their part had ceased, the mestiza disappeared from his

dreams, and with great labor he formed in his mind a picture of a

widow, but an agreeable widow. So it was that when he saw only part

of his dream taking on real form, he became sad. But he was somewhat

of a philosopher and said to himself: "That was a dream, but in the

world one does not live in dreams." Thus he settled all his doubts;

she wasted a lot of rice powder on her cheeks. Pshaw! When they were

once married he would make her stop that easily enough; she had many

wrinkles in her face, but his coat had more bare spots and patches;

she was old, pretentious, and imperious, but hunger was more imperious,

and still more pretentious; and then, too, he had a sweet disposition,

and, who could tell?-love modifies character; she spoke Spanish very

badly, but he himself did not speak it well; at least, the head of

the Customs department had so notified him in his discharge from his

position, and besides, what did it matter? What if she was old and

ridiculous? He was lame, toothless and bald. When some friend jested

with him, he would respond: "Give me bread and call me a fool."

Don Tiburcio was what is vulgarly called a man who would not harm a

fly. He was modest and incapable of conceiving an evil thought. He

would have made a good missionary had he lived in olden times. His

stay in the country had not given him that conviction of his

own superiority, of his own worth, and of his high importance,

which the larger part of his countrymen acquire in a few weeks

in the Philippines. His heart had never been able to conceive

hatred for anybody or anything. He had not yet been able to find a

revolutionist. He only looked upon the people as unhappy beings whom

it was fitting for him to deprive of a little of their wealth in order

to prevent himself becoming even more unhappy than they. When they

tried to make a case against him for passing as a doctor without a

proper license, he did not resent it, he did not complain. He saw the

justice of the case, and only replied: "But it is necessary to live!"

So they were married and went to Santa Ana to pass their honeymoon. But

on the night of the wedding Dona Victorina had a bad attack of

indigestion. Don Tiburcio gave thanks to God and showed solicitude

and care. On the second night, however, he conducted himself like an

honorable man, but on the day following, when he looked in the mirror

at his bare gums, he smiled with melancholy: he had grown ten years

older at least.

Dona Victorina, charmed with her husband, had a good set of front

teeth made for him, and had the best tailors in the city dress and

equip him. She ordered carriages and calesas, sent to Batangas and

Albay provinces for the finest spans of horses, and even obliged him

to make two entries in the coming horse races.

In the meantime, while she was transforming her husband, she did not

forget her own person. She laid aside the silk saya or Filipino skirt

and pina cloth bodice, for a dress of European style. She substituted

false curls in front for the simple hair dress of the Filipinos. Her

dresses, which fitted her "divinely bad," disturbed the peace and

tranquillity of the entire neighborhood.

The husband never went out of the house afoot-she did not want people

to see that he was lame. He always took her for drives through the

places most deserted, much to her pain, for she wanted to display

her husband on the drives most frequented by the public. But out of

respect for their honeymoon, she kept silent.

The last quarter of the honeymoon had just begun when he wanted to

stop her from using rice powder on her cheeks, saying to her that it

was false and not natural. Dona Victorina frowned and looked squarely

at his front set of teeth. He at once became silent, and she learned

his weakness.

She soon got the idea that she was to become a mother and made the

following announcement to all her friends: "Next month, we, I and

de Espadana are going to the Peninsula. [17] I don't want to have my

son born here and have them call him a revolutionist."

She added a de to her husband's name. The de did not cost anything

and gave categoria to the name. When she signed herself, she wrote

Victorina de los Reyes de de Espadana. That de de Espadana was her

mania. Neither the lithographer who printed her cards, nor her husband,

could get the idea out of her head.

"If I do not put more than one de in the name people will think that

I haven't it, fool!" said she to her husband.

She was talking continually about her preparations for the voyage

to Spain. She learned by memory the names of the points where the

steamers called, and it was a pleasure to hear her talk-"I am going

to see the sismus of the Suez Canal. De Espadana thinks that it is

the most beautiful, and De Espadana has seen the whole world."-"I

will probably never return to this land of savages."-"I was not

born to live here. Aden or Port Said would be more suitable for

me. I have always thought so since I was a child." Dona Victorina,

in her geography, divided the world into two parts, the Philippines

and Spain. In this she differed from the lower class of people in

Madrid for they divide it into Spain and America, or Spain and China,

America and China being merely different names for the same country.

The husband knew that some of these things were barbarisms, but he

kept silent so that she would not mock him and twit him with his

stammering. She feigned to be whimsical in order to increase her

illusion that she was a mother, and she began to dress herself in

colors, adorn herself with flowers and ribbons, and to walk through the

Escolta in a wrapper. But oh! what an illusion! Three months passed and

the dream vanished. By this time, having no fear that her son would

be a revolutionist, she gave up the voyage. She consulted doctors,

mid-wives and old women, but all in vain. To the great displeasure

of Captain Tiago she made fun of San Pascual Bailon, as she did not

care to run to any saint. On account of this a friend of her husband

told her:

"Believe me, Senora, you are the only espiritu fuerte (strong-minded

person) in this country."

She smiled without understanding what espiritu fuerte meant, but, at

night, when it was time to be sleeping, she asked her husband about it.

"Daughter," replied he, "the e-espir-espiritu most fu-fuerte that I

know-know about is a-a-ammonia. My fr-fr-friend must have be-been

us-using a figure of rhetoric."

From that time on, she was always saying, whenever she could, "I am

the only ammonia in this country, speaking rhetorically, as Senor N. de

N. who is from the Peninsula and who has much categoria, puts it."

Whatever she said had to be done. She had come to dominate her

husband completely. On his part, he offered no great resistance,

and was converted into a little lap dog for her. If he incommoded

her she would not let him go out for a drive, and when she became

really infuriated, she would snatch out his false teeth and leave him

a horrible-looking man for one or more days, according to the offense.

It occurred to her that her husband ought to be a Doctor of Medicine

and Surgery, and so she expressed herself to him.

"Daughter! Do you want them to arrest me?" he said, frightened.

"Don't be a fool. Let me arrange it!" she replied. "You are not going

to attend any one, but I want them to call you a doctor and me a

doctora, eh?"

And on the following day Rodoreda, a prominent marble dealer in Manila,

received an order for the following engraving on black marble: Dr. De

Espadana, Specialist in All Kinds of Diseases.

All of the servants had to give them their new titles, and, in

consequence of it all, she increased the number of her curls in

front, the layer of rice powder, the ribbons and laces, and looked

with more disdain than ever on the poor and less fortunate women

of her country, who had less categoria than she. Each day she felt

herself more dignified and elevated, and, following along this road,

in less than a year she would think herself of divine origin.

These sublime thoughts, however, did not prevent her from growing more

ridiculous and older each day. Every time that Captain Tiago met her

in the street and remembered that he had once made love to her in vain,

he would go at once to the church and give a peso for a mass as a thank

offering for his good luck in not marrying her. In spite of this,

Captain Tiago highly respected her husband, on account of his title

of "specialist in all kinds of diseases," and he listened with close

attention to the few phrases that he managed to stutter out. In fact,

it was on account of this title and the fact that the doctor did not

attend everybody, that the Captain chose him to attend his daughter.

As to the young man Linares, it is a different story. When she

was making ready for her voyage to Spain, Dona Victorina thought of

having an administrator from the Peninsula to look after her affairs,

for she did not trust Filipinos. Her husband remembered a nephew in

Madrid who was studying to become a lawyer, and who was considered

the smartest one in his family. They wrote to him, then, sending him

in advance money for the passage, and, when the dream was dispelled,

the young man was already on his way.

These are the three persons who had just arrived.

While they were eating their breakfast, Father Salvi arrived, and,

as the husband and wife had already met the friar, they presented

him to the young Linares, with all his titles. The young man blushed.

As was natural they spoke of Maria Clara. The young maiden was resting

and sleeping. They talked over the voyage. Dona Victorina showed her

verbosity by criticising the customs of the provinces, the nipa houses,

the bamboo bridges, without forgetting to tell the curate about her

friendship with the Commander of the Army, the Alcalde so and so,

Judge so and so of the Supreme Court, and with the governor of the

province, all persons of categoria, who had much consideration for her.

"If you had come two days before, Dona Victorina," replied Captain

Tiago during a short pause, "you would have met His Excellency,

the Governor General. He sat right there."

"What? How's that? Was His Excellency here? And in your house? A lie!"

"I tell you he sat right there. If you had come two days before-"

"Ah! What a shame that little Clara did not fall sick

before!" exclaimed she, in real sorrow. And directing herself to

Linares: "Do you hear, cousin? His Excellency was here! You see

De Espadana was right when he told you that we were not going to

the house of a miserable native. For you should know, Don Santiago,

that our cousin was a friend of all the Ministers in Madrid and all

the Dukes, and he dined in the house of Count del Campanario (belfry)."

"Duke de la Torre (tower), Victorina," said her husband, correcting

her.

"It amounts to the same thing. Do you think you can tell me that-"

"Would I find Father Damaso in town to-day?" interrupted Linares,

turning to Father Salvi. "They have told me that he is near here."

"He is, precisely, and will come here in a little while," replied

the curate.

"How glad I am! I have a letter for him," exclaimed the young man. "And

if it had not been for this happy chance which brought me here,

I would have come expressly to visit him."

"The happy chance-that is, Maria Clara-had, in the meantime

awakened."

"De Espadana!" said Dona Victorina, finishing her breakfast. "Are

we going to see little Clara?" And turning to Captain Tiago, "For

you only, Don Santiago; for you alone! My husband does not treat

anybody except people of categoria, and he even refuses some of

them! My husband is not like those about here-in Madrid he only

visited people of categoria."

They passed into the sick room.

The room was almost dark. The windows were shut for fear of a draught,

and the little light which illuminated the room came from the two

wax candles which were burning in front of an image of the Virgin

of Antipolo.

Her head wrapped up in a handkerchief, saturated in cologne water,

her body wrapped in wide folds of white sheets which outlined her

virginal form, the sick maiden lay on her bed of kamakon [18] among

jusi and pina curtains. Her hair, forming a frame around her oval

face, increased her transparent paleness, which was animated only

by her large eyes full of sadness. At her side were her two friends

and Andeng.

De Espadana felt of her pulse, examined her tongue, asked some

questions, and shaking his head seriously, said:

"Sh-sh-she is si-sick. But we-we-we can cu-cu-cure her."

Dona Victorina looked with pride at those around her.

"A li-lichen in mil-milk in the-the morning; syrup of marsh

marsh-mal-mallow, tw-o-two hounds'-hounds' tongue pi-pills,"

ordered De Espadana.

"Take courage, little Clara," said Dona Victorina, approaching her. "We

have come to cure you. I am going to present our cousin to you."

Linares was absorbed, contemplating those eloquent eyes which seemed

to be seeking some one, and he did not hear Dona Victorina call him.

"Senor Linares," said the curate, calling him out of his ecstacy. "Here

comes Father Damaso."

In fact, Father Damaso was coming, pale and somewhat sad. On leaving

his bed, his first visit was to Maria Clara. He was no longer the

Father Damaso that he had been, so robust and talkative. He now walked

along in silence and with unsteady footsteps.


	26. 25

CHAPTER XXV

SCHEMES.

Without paying attention to anybody, Father Damaso went straight to

the sick room and took hold of Maria's hand.

"Maria!" said he, with indescribable tenderness, as tears dropped

from his eyes. "Maria, my child, you are not going to die!"

Maria opened her eyes and looked at him with surprise.

None who knew the Franciscan suspected that he ever had such tender

thoughts. No one ever supposed that a heart existed under that gross

and rude aspect.

Father Damaso could say no more and left the maiden, weeping like

a child. He went out through the room at the head of the stairs,

to give free vent to his grief, on Maria Clara's balcony under her

favorite vines.

"How he loves his god-daughter!" thought they all.

Father Salvi witnessed the scene, immovable and silent, lightly biting

his lips.

When his grief was somewhat soothed, Father Damaso was introduced

by Dona Victorina to the young Linares, who approached the friar

with respect.

Father Damaso gazed at him in silence from head to foot. He took

the letter which the young man handed to him and read it apparently

without understanding it, for he asked him:

"And who are you?"

"Alfonso Linares, the god-son of your brother-in-law," stammered the

young man.

Father Damaso leaned back and examined the young man again. His face

brightened up and he rose to his feet.

"And so you are the god-son of little Charles!" he exclaimed. "Come

here and let me embrace you. It was some days ago that I received your

letter. So it is you! I did not know you-but that is easily explained,

for you were not yet born when I left the country. I never knew you."

And Father Damaso stretched out his robust arms to the young man who

blushed, either from shame or suffocation. Father Damaso seemed to

have completely forgotten his grief.

After the first moments of effusion had passed, and questions had been

asked about Carlicos, as he called little Charles, Father Damaso asked:

"Well. What does Carlicos want me to do for you?"

"I believe he says something in the letter," stammered Linares again.

"In the letter? Let us see. 'Tis so! And he wants me to get you a

job and a wife! Hm! Employment-employment: that is easy. Do you know

how to read and write?"

"I have graduated in law from the Central University."

"Carambas! So you are a pettifogger? Well, you don't look it-you look

more like a young gentleman. But so much the better! But to find you

a wife-hm! hm! a wife."

"Father, I am not in a hurry about it," said Linares, confused.

But Father Damaso began to walk from one end of the room to the other,

muttering: "A wife! A wife!"

His face by this time was no longer sad, nor was it cheerful. It

expressed the greatest seriousness and he seemed to be

meditating. Father Salvi surveyed the scene from a distance.

"I did not believe that it could give me such pain," murmured Father

Damaso in a mournful voice. "But of two evils the lesser."

And raising his voice and approaching Linares, he said:

"Come here, my boy! We will speak with Santiago."

Linares turned pale and allowed himself to be led along by the priest,

who was deep in thought.

Then it was Father Salvi's turn to walk up and down the room and he

did so, meditating, as was his custom.

A voice bidding him good morning stopped his monotonous tread. He

raised his head and his eyes met Lucas, who saluted him humbly.

"What do you want?" asked the eyes of the curate.

"Father, I am the brother of the man who was killed on the day of

the fiesta," replied Lucas, in a tearful tone.

Father Salvi stepped back.

"And what of it?" he muttered, in an unintelligible voice.

Lucas made an effort to weep, and dried his eyes with his handkerchief.

"Father," said he, crying, "I have been to Crisostomo's house to ask

him for indemnity. At first, he received me with kicks, saying that

he would not pay anything, since he had run the risk of being killed

through the fault of my dear, unfortunate brother. Yesterday, I went

to talk with him again, but he had already left for Manila, leaving

me for charity's sake five hundred pesos for my poor brother-five

hundred pesos-ah! Father."

The curate listened to the first part of his story with surprise and

attention, but slowly there appeared on his lips a smile-a smile

of such contempt and sarcasm at the comedy that was being played,

that if Lucas had seen it he would have fled in all haste.

"And what do you want now?" he asked, turning his back to him.

"Alas! Father, for love of God tell me what I ought to do. Father,

you have always given good advice."

"Who has told you that? You do not live here."

"But the whole province knows you, Father!"

Father Salvi went up to him with his eyes full of anger and, motioning

to the street, said to the frightened Lucas:

"Go to your house and give thanks to Don Crisostomo that he has not

sent you to jail. Get away from here."

Forgetting his role, Lucas muttered:

"Well, I thought-"

"Out of here!" cried Father Salvi, in a nervous tone.

"I want to see Father Damaso."

"Father Damaso is busy. Out of here!" ordered the curate, in an

imperative tone, again.

Lucas went down the stairs murmuring: "He is another. How poorly he

pays! He who pays better..."

The voice of the curate had reached the ears of all in the house,

even Father Damaso, Captain Tiago and Linares.

"An insolent beggar who came to ask alms and doesn't want to work,"

said Father Salvi, taking his hat and cane and starting toward the

convent.


	27. 26

CHAPTER XXVI

THE PERSECUTED.

By the dim light which the moon diffused through the thick branches

of the trees, a man wandered along the forest trails slowly and

cautiously. From time to time, as if to find out where he was,

he whistled a particular melody, to which another in the distance

responded with the same air. The man listened attentively, and

afterward proceeded in the direction of the distant sound.

Finally, passing through the thousand difficulties which a virgin

forest offers in the night time, he came to a small clearing. High

rocks, crowned with trees, surrounded the place, forming a sort of

ruined amphitheatre. Recently cut trees, with their charred trunks

and enormous rocks, which Nature had covered with her mantle of green

foliage, filled the middle of the open space.

Scarcely had the unknown man arrived, when another figure quickly

appeared from behind one of the large rocks, advanced and drew

a revolver.

"Who are you?" he asked in Tagalog and, in an imperious voice, as he

cocked the hammer of his weapon.

"Is old Pablo among you?" asked the first calmly, without replying

to the question or becoming intimidated.

"Do you refer to the Captain? Yes, he is."

"Tell him, then, that Elias is looking for him here," said the man.

"Are you Elias?" asked the other with a certain respect, and

approaching him without lowering his revolver. "Then come."

Elias followed him.

They penetrated into a kind of cavern, which was hollowed out in the

depths of the earth. The guide, who knew the way, told the pilot when

he ought to get down, stoop or crawl. However, it was not long before

they came to a sala or room in the cave, miserably illuminated by pitch

torches, and occupied by twelve or fifteen armed men. The faces of

the men were dirty and their clothes ragged; some were sitting down,

others lying down, conversing among themselves in a low tone. Leaning

his elbows on a stone which served as a table and contemplating

thoughtfully the lamp, which was shedding very little light for the

amount of smoke it made, sat an old man. His countenance was sad,

and his head wrapped in a bloody rag. If we had not known that the

place was a cave of tulisanes, we would have said, on reading the

desperation on the face of the old man, that it was the Tower of

Hunger on the eve when Ugolino devoured his sons.

At the arrival of Elias and the guide, the men were about to arise,

but, at a signal from the guide, they were quieted and contented

themselves with examining the pilot, who was entirely unarmed.

The old man turned his head slowly and his eyes met the sturdy

figure of Elias. The latter, in turn, with his head uncovered, full

of sadness and interest, gazed upon the old man.

"Is it you?" asked the old man, his face brightening a little as he

recognized the youth.

"How badly off you are!" murmured Elias, in an half-intelligible tone

of voice.

The old man bowed in silence, made a sign to the men, who then arose

and left, not, however, without first directing glances at the pilot,

measuring his stature and muscles.

"Yes!" said the old man to Elias as soon as they found themselves

alone. "Six months ago, I gave you refuge in my house. Then, it was

I who sympathized with you; now, fortune has changed and it is you

who pity me. But sit down, and tell me how you came here."

"Some fifteen days ago they told me of your misfortune," replied the

young man slowly, and in a low voice, looking toward the light. "I

at once set out on the road and I have been searching for you from

mountain to mountain. I have travelled over the greater part of

two provinces.

"Rather than spill innocent blood," said Pablo, "I have had to flee. My

enemies are afraid to show themselves and shield themselves behind

some unhappy fellows who have never done me the slightest injury."

Then, after a short pause, of which Elias took advantage to read the

thoughts in that melancholy countenance, he replied:

"I have come to make a proposition. Having searched in vain for some

member of the family which has caused me my misfortunes, I have decided

to leave the province where I am living and to emigrate to the north

and live there among the heathen and independent tribes. Do you want

to leave this life and go with me? I will be your son, since you have

lost those whom you had, and I, who have no family, will take you as

my father."

The old man shook his head and said:

"At my age, when a person makes a desperate resolution it is because

there is no other course open. A man who, like me has passed his youth

and the best years of his life working for his own future and for the

future of his sons, a man who has been submissive to all the wishes

of his superiors, who has discharged conscientiously all his duties,

suffered everything in order to live in peace and in tranquillity;

when such a man, whose blood has been chilled by Time, renounces all

his past and all his future, on the very edge of his grave-when a

man does this, it is because he has decided with mature judgment that

peace does not exist, and that there is no Supreme Good. What use

is there in living a few miserable days in a foreign land? I had two

sons, a daughter, a fireside, a fortune. I enjoyed consideration and

esteem. Now I am like a tree that has been stripped of its branches;

a wandering fugitive, hunted like a wild beast in the forest, and

all-why? Because a man dishonored my daughter, because her brothers

wanted to make that man account for his infamous deed, and because that

man is placed above all others with a title of Minister of God. But

despite it all, I, a father, I, dishonored in my old age, pardoned the

injury, for I was indulgent with the passions of youth and the weakness

of the flesh, and, as the evil was irreparable, I wanted to save what

still remained to me. But the criminal, afraid that vengeance was near

at hand, sought the destruction of my sons. What did he do? You do

not know? Do you know how they feigned that there had been a robbery

in the convent and how one of my sons figured among the accused? The

other son they could not include because he was away. Do you know the

tortures to which they were submitted? You know them because they are

like those in other towns. I saw my son hung by the hair, I heard his

cries, I heard him call me, and, coward that I was, and, accustomed to

peace, I was not brave enough to kill or be killed. Do you know that

the robbery was not proved, that it was seen that it was a calumny,

that the curate was transferred to another town and that my son died

from the result of his tortures? The other boy, who was still left

for me, was not a coward like his father. The executioner was afraid

that this son would take revenge for the death of his brother and so,

under pretense of his not having a cedula, [19] which for the moment

had been forgotten, he was imprisoned by the Civil Guard, maltreated,

irritated and provoked by force and injuries until he was driven to

suicide. And I have survived after such a disgrace. But, if I had not

the courage of a father to defend his sons, I have left a heart to

take vengeance and I shall be revenged! The discontented are uniting

under my command, my enemies increase my camp, and on that day when

I consider myself strong enough I will go down into the plain and

extinguish in fire both my vengeance and my own existence. And that

day will come or there is no God!"

The old man rose to his feet deeply agitated. With his eyes sparkling

like fire and, in a hollow voice, he added, tearing his long hair:

"Curses upon me, curses upon me for having restrained the avenging

hand of my sons. I have assassinated them! Had I allowed them to kill

the criminal; had I had less faith in the justice of God and of men,

I would now have my sons; perhaps they would have been fugitives,

but I would have them and they would not have died in torture. I

was not born to be a father! For that reason, I haven't them with

me now! Curses upon me for not having learned, with all my years,

in what age we live! But in blood and fire, and in my own death,

I will know how to take vengeance for them!"

The unfortunate father, in the paroxysm of his grief, had taken off

the bandage from his head, opening up a wound which he had on the

forehead and from which the blood oozed out.

"I respect your grief," replied Elias, "and I understand your desire

for vengeance. I, too, am like you, but, for fear of harming an

innocent one, I prefer to forget my misfortunes."

"You can forget them because you are young, and because you have

not lost your son, have not lost your last hope! But, I assure you,

I will not harm an innocent person. Do you see that wound? I allowed

myself to receive that in order not to kill a poor cuaderillero who

was fulfilling his duty."

"But see!" said Elias, after a moment's silence. "See what frightful

destruction you will bring upon our unfortunate country. If you seek

revenge by your own hand your enemies will retaliate, not against

you, not against those who are armed, but against the people, who

are always accused, and then how many more injustices!"

"Let the people learn to defend themselves. Let each learn to defend

himself."

"You know that that is impossible. Senor, I have known you in other

times when you were happy, then you gave me wise advice. Will you

permit me...?"

The old man crossed his arms and seemed to meditate upon what he was

going to say.

"Senor," continued Elias, measuring his words well, "I have had the

fortune to be of service to a young man, rich, of good heart, noble,

and a lover of his country's welfare. They say that this young man

has friends in Madrid. I do not know it, but I can positively assure

you that he is a friend of the Governor General. What do you say if

we make him the bearer of the people's complaints, if we can interest

him in the cause of the unhappy?"

The old man shook his head.

"Do you say that he is a rich man? The rich think of nothing but to

increase their riches. Pride and pomp blind them, and, since they are

generally well off, especially if they have powerful friends, none

of them ever troubles himself about the unfortunates. I know it all,

for I was once rich myself."

"But the man of whom I am speaking does not seem to be like the

others. He is a son who would not allow the memory of his father to be

dishonored. He is a young man who thinks about the future-thinks of

a good future for his sons, for he may in a short time have a family

of his own."

"Then he is a man who is going to be happy. Our cause is not a cause

for happy men."

"But it is a cause for men of good hearts."

"That may be," replied the old man sitting down. "Suppose that he

consented to carry our complaints to the Governor General. Suppose

that he finds in the court those who will argue for us. Do you think

we will get justice?"

"Let us try it before resorting to bloody measures," replied

Elias. "It must seem strange to you that I, another unfortunate,

young, robust-that I should propose to you old and weak-peaceful

measures. But it is because I have seen so many miseries caused

by us similar to those caused by tyrants. The unarmed is the one

who suffers."

"And if we do not accomplish anything?"

"Something will be accomplished, believe me! Not all who govern are

unjust. And if we do not accomplish anything, if our voice is not

listened to, if the man turns a deaf ear to the grief of his fellow

men, then we will put ourselves under your orders."

The old man, full of enthusiasm, embraced the young man.

"I accept your proposition, Elias. I know that you will keep your

word. You come to me and I will help you take vengeance for your

father. You will help me to take vengeance for my sons-my sons who

were like you!"

"In the meantime, Senor, avoid all violent measures."

"You can expound the complaints of the people. You certainly know

them. When will we know the answer?"

"Within four days send a man to meet me on the beach at San Diego

and I will tell him what the person in whom I have hope says. If he

accepts, we will get justice, and if he does not accept, I will be

the first to fall in the fight which we will begin."

"Elias will not die. Elias will be chief, when Captain Pablo falls,

satisfied in his revenge," said the old man.


	28. 27

CHAPTER XXVII

THE COCK FIGHT.

In order to keep the Sabbath holy in the Philippines the people

generally go to the cock fight, just as in Spain they go to the

bull fight. Cock fighting, a passion introduced into the country and

exploited for a century, is one of the vices of the people, more deeply

rooted than the opium vice among the Chinese. The poor go there to

risk what little they have, desirous of making money without working;

the rich go there to amuse themselves, using the money which they

have left over from their feasts and thanksgiving masses. The cock is

educated with great care, with more care, perhaps, than the son who

is to succeed his father in the cock-pit. The Government permits it

and almost recommends it, for it decrees that the fight shall only

be held in the public plazas and on holidays from after high mass

till dark-eight hours.

The San Diego cock-pit does not differ from others which are found in

all the towns. It consists of three parts: The first, or entrance,

is a large rectangle, some twenty meters in length and fourteen in

breadth. On one side is the door, generally guarded by a woman who

collects the entrance fee. From the contribution which each one

makes the Government receives a part, some hundred thousands of

pesos each year. They say that with this money, which gives license

to the vice, magnificent schools are raised, bridges and roadways

constructed, and rewards offered for the encouragement of agriculture

and commerce. Blessed be the vice which produces such good results! In

this first precinct are the vendors of betel nut, cigars and tobacco,

delicacies and refreshments. There the small boys, who accompany their

fathers or uncles, are carefully initiated into the secrets of life.

This precinct communicates with another of slightly larger dimensions,

a sort of vestibule, where the people gather before the fight. There,

one sees most of the cocks, tied by a cord to a bone driven into the

ground like a nail; there, are the bettors, the lovers of the sport,

the man skilled in fastening the gaffs or spurs to the cock's legs;

there, bargains are made, the situation discussed, money borrowed,

and people curse, swear and laugh boisterously. In one place, some

one is caressing his game cock, passing his hand over his brilliant

plumage; in another, a man examines and counts the number of scales

on the rooster's legs, for that, they say, is a sign of valor. The

battles of the heroes are related. There, too, you will see many a

disappointed owner, with a sour face carrying out by the legs, a dead

rooster, stripped of its plumage-the animal which was a favorite

for months, petted, cared for day and night, and on which flattering

hopes had been founded: now, nothing more than a dead fowl, to be

sold for a peseta, stewed in ginger and eaten that very night. Sic

transit gloria mundi! The loser returns to his fire-side, where an

anxious wife and ragged children await him, without his little capital,

without his rooster. From all that gilded dream, from all the care of

months, from daybreak to sunset, from all those labors and fatigue,

from all that, results a peseta, the ashes left from so much smoke.

In this foyer, or vestibule, the most ignorant discuss the coming

contests; the most trifling, examine conscientiously the bird, weigh

it, contemplate it, extend its wings, feel of its muscles. Some of

the people are very well dressed, and are followed and surrounded by

the backers of their game cocks. Others, dirty, with the seal of vice

imprinted on their squalid faces, anxiously follow the movements of

the rich and watch their betting, for the pocketbook can be emptied

and the passion still be unsatisfied. There you see no face that is

not animated, no indolent Filipino; none apathetic, none silent. All

is movement, passion, eagerness.

From this place, one passes into the arena or rueda, as it is

called. The floor, inclosed by bamboos, is generally elevated higher

than the floor of the other two parts of the cock-pit. Running up

from the floor and almost touching the roof, are rows of seats for

the spectators or gamblers-they come to be the same. During the

combat these seats are filled with men and children who cry, shout,

perspire, quarrel, and blaspheme. Fortunately, scarcely any women visit

the cock-pit. In the rueda are the prominent men, the rich class,

the bettors, the bookmaker, and the referee. The cocks fight on the

ground, which is beaten down perfectly smooth, and there Destiny

distributes to families laughter or tears, feasts or hunger.

As we enter, we can see the gobernadorcillo, Captain Pablo, Captain

Basilio, and Lucas, the man with the scar on his face who was so

disconsolate over the death of his brother.

Captain Basilio approaches one of those present and asks him:

"Do you know what cock Captain Tiago is going to bring?"

"I do not know, Senor. This morning two arrived, one of them the lasak

(black sprinkled with white) which whipped the Consul's talisain

(red, sprinkled with black)."

"Do you think that my bulik (black, red and white), can beat him?"

"Yes, I surely do. I'll stake my house and shirt on him!"

At that moment Captain Tiago arrived. He was dressed, like the big

gamblers, in a camisa of Canton linen, woolen pantaloons, and a

panama-straw hat. Behind him came two servants, carrying the lasak

and a white cock of colossal proportions.

"Sinang tells me that Maria Clara is improving steadily," said

Captain Basilio.

"She no longer has any fever, but she is still weak."

"Did you lose last night?"

"A little. I heard that you won... I am going to see if I can win

back my money."

"Do you want to fight your lasak?" asked Captain Basilio, looking at

the rooster.

"That depends on whether there is any money up."

"How much will you stake?"

"I don't play less than two thousand."

"Have you seen my bulik?" asked Captain Basilio, and then called a

man to bring a small rooster.

Captain Tiago examined it, and after weighing it in his hand, and

examining its scales, he handed it back.

"What do you put up?" he asked.

"Whatever you say."

"Two thousand five hundred?"

"Make it three?"

"Three."

"Let her go!"

The circle of curious people and gamblers learn that the two celebrated

cocks are to be fought. Both the roosters have made a history for

themselves; both have a reputation. All want to see and examine the

two celebrities. Opinions are expressed, and prophecies made.

In the meantime the voices grow louder, the confusion is augmented, the

rueda fills up and a rush is made for the seats. The soltadores bring

two cocks to the ring for a preliminary contest. One of the roosters

is blanco (white), the other rojo (red). They are already spurred, but

the gaffs are not yet unsheathed. Cries of "Al blanco! al blanco!" are

heard. Some one else shouts, "Al rojo!" The blanco is the favorite.

Civil Guards circulate among the crowd. They are not wearing

the uniform of their body, nor do they wear the costume of the

native. Pantaloons of guingon with a red fringe, a blue-spotted blouse

shirt, and the cuartel cap-you have here their disguise, in harmony

with their deportment; watching and betting, making disturbance and

talking of maintaining the peace.

While the shouting is going on and men are jingling money in their

hands; while the people are going down in their pockets for the last

cuarto, or, if that is wanting, pledging their word, promising to

sell their carabao, or their next harvest, two young men, apparently

brothers, follow the gamblers with envious eyes. They approach, timidly

murmur words which nobody catches, and each time become more and more

melancholy, and look at each other with disgust and indignation. Lucas

observes them, smiles malignantly, rattles some silver pesos, passes

near to the two brothers, and looks toward the rueda, shouting:

"I am betting fifty, fifty against twenty on the white!"

The two brothers exchanged looks.

"I told you," murmured the older, "not to bet all your money. If you

had obeyed me, we would have it now to put on the red."

The younger one approached Lucas timidly and touched him on the arm.

"Is it you?" exclaimed the latter turning around and feigning

surprise. "Does your brother accept my proposition or did you come

to bet?"

"How can we bet when we have lost all?"

"Then you accept?"

"He does not want to! If you could lend us something: you have already

said that you knew us..."

Lucas scratched his head, pulled down his camisa and replied:

"Yes, I know you. You are Tarsilo and Bruno, both young and strong. I

know that your brave father died from the result of the hundred

lashes which the soldiers gave him. I know that you do not think of

avenging him."

"You need not meddle in our history," interrupted Tarsilo, the

older. "That is a disgrace. If we did not have a sister, we would

have been hanged long ago."

"Hanged? They only hang cowards, or some one who has no money or

protection. Certainly the mountains are near."

"A hundred against twenty on the blanco," cried one as he passed

the group.

"Loan us four pesos ... three ... two," begged the younger

brother. "Presently I will return it to you doubled. The fight is

going to begin."

Lucas scratched his head again.

"Tst! This money is not mine. Don Crisostomo has given it to me for

those who want to serve him. But I see that you are not like your

father. He was really courageous."

And, saying this, he went away from them, although not far.

"Let us accept. What does it matter?" said Bruno to his brother. "It

amounts to the same thing whether you are hanged or shot down. We

poor serve for nothing else."

"You are right, but think of our sister."

In the meantime, the circle around the ring had been dispersed; the

fight was going to commence. The voices began to die away, and the

two soltadores and the skilled gaff fitter, were alone in the middle

of the rueda. At a signal from the referee, the sheaths were removed

from the razor-like knives on the cocks' legs, and the fine blades

glistened in a menacing way.

The two brothers, gloomy and silent, approached the ring and, resting

their faces against the bamboo railing, watched the preparations. A man

approached them and said in their ears: "Hundred to ten on the blanco!"

Tarsilo looked at him stupidly. Bruno elbowed his brother, who

responded with a grunt.

The soltadores handle the roosters with masterly skill, taking

great care not to wound them. A deep silence reigns throughout the

pit. You would think that those present, with the exception of the two

soltadores, were horrible wax figures. The two roosters are brought

close together and allowed to pick at each other and thus become

irritated. Then they allow them to look at each other, so that the

poor little birds may know who has plucked out their feathers, and

with whom they should fight. The feathers around the neck stand up;

they look at each other fixedly; flashes of wrath escape from their

little, round eyes. The moment has come. The birds are placed on the

ground in the ring at a certain distance from each other.

The cocks advance slowly. Their little steps are heard upon the hard

floor. Nobody speaks; nobody breathes. Lowering and raising their

heads, as if measuring each other with a look, the two roosters mutter

sounds, perhaps of threat or contempt. They have perceived the shining

blades. Danger animates them, and they turn toward each other decided,

but they stop at a short distance, and, as they look at each other,

they bow their heads and again raise their feathers on end. With

their natural valor, they rush at each other impetuously; they strike

beak against beak; breast against breast, blade against blade, and

wing against wing. The blows have been stopped with dexterity and

skill, and only a few feathers have fallen. They again measure each

other! Suddenly the blanco turns and, raising himself in the air,

flashes his death-dealing knife, but the rojo has already doubled up

his legs, ducked his head and the blanco has only cut the air. Then,

on touching the ground, to avoid being wounded from behind, he turns

quickly and faces the other. The red attacks him with fury, but he

defends himself with coolness. Not without reason was he the favorite

of the crowd. All, trembling and anxious, follow the movements of

the battle, now this one and now that one giving an involuntary

shout. The ground is being covered with red and white feathers,

tinged with blood. But the duel does not go to the one who draws first

blood. The Filipino here follows the laws laid down by the Government,

which say that the cock which is killed or flees loses the fight. The

blood now wets the ground; the blows are repeated, but the victory

is still undecided. Finally, making a supreme effort, the blanco

throws himself forward to give a last blow; he drives his knife into

the wing of the rojo and buries it among the bones. But the blanco

has been wounded in the breast, and both, weak from loss of blood,

and panting, fastened together, remain immovable until the blanco

falls, bleeds through his neck, kicks violently and is in the agony

of death. The rojo, pinned by his wing, is held to the other's side;

and little by little he doubles up his legs and slowly closes his eyes.

Then the referee, in accordance with the regulations prescribed by

the Government, declares the rojo the winner. A wild and prolonged

outcry greets the decision, an outcry which is heard throughout

the town. He, who, from afar, hears the cry, understands that the

dejado has beaten the favorite, for otherwise the outcry would not

have lasted so long. So it happens among nations: when a small nation

succeeds in gaining a victory over a greater one, the song and story

of it last through centuries.

"Do you see?" said Bruno, with indignation, to his brother, "if you

had taken my advice to-day, we would have had one hundred pesos. On

your account we are without a cuarto."

Tarsilo did not reply, but, with wide-open eyes, looked around him

as if in search of some one.

"There he is talking with Pedro," added Bruno. "He is giving him

money-what a lot of money!"

Tarsilo remained silent and thoughtful. With the arm of his camisa,

he wiped away the sweat which formed in drops on his forehead.

"Brother," said Bruno, "I am decided, even if you are not. The lasak

ought to win and we ought not to lose the opportunity. I want to bet on

the next fight. What does it matter? Thus, we will avenge our father."

"Wait!" said Tarsilo to him, and looked him in the eyes. Both were

pale. "I am with you. You are right. We will avenge our father."

He stopped, however, and again wiped away the perspiration.

"Why do you stop?" asked Bruno impatiently.

"Do you know what fight is the next one? Is it worth the trouble?"

"What! Haven't you heard? Captain Tiago's lasak against Captain

Basilio's bulik. According to the run of luck, the lasak ought to win."

"Ah! The lasak. I would bet ... but let us make sure first."

Bruno made a gesture of impatience, but followed his brother. The

latter looked the rooster over carefully, thought about it, debated

with himself and asked a few questions. The unfortunate fellow was

in doubt. Bruno was nervous and looked at him angrily.

"Why, don't you see that wide scale which he has there near the

spur? Do you see those feet? What more do you want? Look at those

legs. Stretch out his wings. And that broken scale on top of that

wide one, and that double one?"

Tarsilo did not hear him, he kept on examining the cock. The rattle

of silver coins reached his ears.

"Let us see the bulik now," said he, in a choking voice.

Bruno stamped the ground with his feet, grated his teeth, but obeyed

his brother.

They approached the other group. There they were arming the cock,

they were selecting gaffs for him, and the expert, in fitting them

to the rooster's legs, was preparing a piece of red silk. He waxed

it and rubbed it over his knee a number of times.

Tarsilo gazed at the bird with a sombre air. It seemed that he was

not looking at the cock, but at something in the future. He passed

his hand over his forehead.

"Are you ready?" he asked his brother, his voice scarcely perceptible.

"I? Long ago. Without having to see them."

"It is our poor sister-"

"Bah! Didn't they tell you that the leader is Don Crisostomo? Have

you not seen him walking with the Governor General? What danger will

we run?"

"And if we are killed?"

"What does it matter? Our father died from being whipped to death."

"You are right."

Both brothers sought Lucas in the crowd.

As soon as they caught sight of him, Tarsilo stopped.

"No! Let us go away from here! We are going to lose," he exclaimed.

"Go if you wish. I am going to accept."

"Bruno!"

Unfortunately, a man approached them and said:

"Are you betting? I am backing the bulik."

The two brothers did not reply.

"I'll give you odds."

"How much?" asked Bruno.

The man counted out four peso pieces. Bruno looked at him, breathless.

"I have two hundred. Fifty to forty."

"No," said Bruno promptly. "Make it ..."

"All right! fifty to thirty."

"Double it if you wish!"

"Well! The bulik is my winning color and I have just won. Hundred

against sixty!"

"That's a go! Wait till I go and get my money."

"But I will be the stake-holder," said the other, in whom the manner

of Bruno inspired little confidence.

"It's all the same to me!" responded the latter, trusting in the

strength of his fists.

And, turning to his brother, he said:

"Go away, if you wish; I'm going to stay."

Then Tarsilo reflected. He loved his brother and the game. He could

not leave him alone, and he murmured. "Let it be so!"

They approached Lucas. The latter saw them coming and smiled.

"Eh! there!" said Tarsilo.

"What is it?"

"How much do you give?" asked the two brothers.

"I have already told you. If you want to find some others to help

us surprise the cuartel, I will give you thirty pesos apiece, and

ten pesos for each companion you get. If all comes out well, each

will receive one hundred pesos and you two, double that amount. Don

Crisostomo is rich."

"Accepted," exclaimed Bruno. "Hand over the money."

"I knew well that you were brave, like your father. Come! Don't

let them hear us or they will kill us," said Lucas, pointing to the

Civil Guards.

And taking them into a corner, he told them, as he counted out the

money to them:

"To-morrow Don Crisostomo will arrive and bring arms. Day after

to-morrow, about eight o'clock at night, come to the cemetery. I

will tell you about the final arrangements. You have time to find

some other companions."

They took leave of each other. Now the two brothers seemed to have

changed their roles. Tarsilo was calm; Bruno, pale.


	29. 28

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE TWO SENORAS.

While Captain Tiago was fighting his lasak against the bulik,

Dona Victorina took a walk through the town, with the intention of

seeing the condition of the indolent natives, and of their houses

and fields. She had dressed as elegantly as she could, putting all

her ribbons and flowers on her silk gown, in order to impress the

provincials, and make them see how great a distance was between

them and her sacred person. Giving her arm to her lame husband, she

fluttered through the streets of the town, among the stupefied and

wondering inhabitants. Cousin Linares had remained in the house.

"What ugly houses these natives have," began Dona Victorina, making a

grimace. "I don't know how they can live there: one must be a native

to do it. They meet us and don't uncover their heads! Hit them over

the head as the curates and tenientes of the Guardia Civil do when

they don't take off their hats. Teach them manners."

"And if they hit me?" asked Dr. de Espadana.

"Aren't you a man?"

"Bu-bu-but, I am la-la-lame."

Dona Victorina was becoming bad-humored. The streets were not paved,

and the train of her gown was covered with dust. Besides, they met many

young women, who, on passing her, cast down their eyes and did not

admire her lavish dress as they should have done. Sinang's coachman,

who was driving her and her cousin in an elegant carriage, had the

impudence to call out tabi [20] to them in such a warning voice

that she had to get out of the way, and was only able to exclaim,

"Look at that brute of a coachman! I am going to tell his master that

he should educate his servants better!"

"Let us go back to the house," she ordered her husband.

He, fearing that there was going to be a storm, turned on his heels

and obeyed the command.

They met the alferez on the way back and greeted him. He increased

the discontent of Dona Victorina, for he not only failed to compliment

her on her dress, but surveyed it almost with a mocking manner.

"You ought not to extend your hand to a simple alferez," said she

to her husband as soon as they were some distance away. "He scarcely

touches his helmet, and you take off your hat. You don't know how to

maintain your rank."

"He is ch-ch-chief here!"

"And what does that matter to us? Are we, perchance, natives?"

"You are right," replied he, not wishing to quarrel.

They passed by the officer's house. Dona Consolacion was in the window,

as usual, dressed in her flannel outfit and smoking her cigar. As

the house was rather low, they could see each other as they passed,

and Dona Victorina could distinguish her very well. The Muse of the

Guardia Civil examined her with tranquillity from head to foot, and,

afterward, sticking out her lower lip, spit, turning her face to the

other side. That put an end to Dona Victorina's patience, and, leaving

her husband without any support, she squared herself in front of the

alfereza, trembling with rage, and unable to speak. Dona Consolacion

turned her head slowly, looked her over again, and then spit again,

but with still greater disdain.

"What is the matter with you, Dona?" said the alfereza.

"Can you tell me, Senora, why you look at me so? Are you envious?" Dona

Victorina finally succeeded in saying.

"I envious of you?" said the Medusa with scorn. "O, yes! I envy

those curls."

"Come, wife!" said the doctor. "Do-don't take no-no-notice of her!"

"Let me give this shameless common person a lesson!" replied the woman,

giving her husband a push. He nearly fell to the ground. Turning to

Dona Consolacion, she continued:

"Look how you treat me! Don't think that I am a provincial, or a

soldiers' querida! In my house in Manila alferezas never are allowed

to come in. They wait at the door."

"Oh-oh! Most Excellent Senora! Alferezas don't enter, but invalids

like that out there. Ha, ha, ha!"

If it hadn't been for all the paint on her face, one could have seen

Dona Victorina blush. She wanted to throw herself upon her enemy,

but the sentry stopped her. In the meantime, the street was filling

up with curious people.

"Listen! I lower myself talking with you. People of categoria ... Do

you want my clothes to wash? I will pay you well. Do you think that

I don't know that you are a washerwoman?"

Dona Consolacion became furious. The reference to her being a

washerwoman wounded her.

"Do you think that we do not know what you are? Get out! My husband has

already told me. Senora, I, at least, have not belonged to more than

one man, but you? One must be pretty hard up to take the leavings."

This shot struck Dona Victorina square in the breast. She rolled up

her sleeves, clenched her fists, and, gnashing her teeth, began:

"Come down here, you nasty old thing, that I may smash your filthy

mouth."

The Medusa disappeared quickly from the window, but was soon seen

coming down the stairs on a run, swinging her husband's whip.

Don Tiburcio interposed, pleading with them, but they would have come

to blows if the alferez had not arrived.

"But, senoras!... Don Tiburcio!"

"Teach your woman better; buy her better clothes. If you haven't

the money, rob the people. You have your soldiers for that!" shouted

Dona Victorina.

"Senora," said the alferez furiously. "Thank yourself that I don't

forget that you are a woman; for if you were not, I would kick you

to pieces, with all your curls and ribbons."

"Se-se-senor al-alferez!" said Don Tiburcio.

"Go ahead! Kill us! You don't wear big enough trousers, you quack."

And so the battle waged: words, gestures, cries, insults, and

injuries. They brought out all the nasty things they could think of,

all four speaking at the same time, and, saying so many things and

bringing to light so many truths, that we will not relate here all

that was said. The people who had gathered around to satisfy their

curiosity, if they understood all the remarks, must have enjoyed

themselves not a little. They were all waiting to see them come to

blows. Unfortunately for the spectators, the curate came along and

pacified them.

"Senoras! senoras! What a shame. Senor alferez."

"What are you meddling in these matters for, you hypocrite, you

Carlist?"

"Don Tiburcio, take away your wife! Senora, hold your tongue!"

"Tell that to those robbers of the poor!"

Finally, the dictionary of epithets was exhausted. The review of the

disgraces of each couple was ended, and little by little they were

separated, threatening and insulting each other. Father Salvi kept

going from one side to the other, adding life to the scene.

"This very day we will go to Manila and we will present ourselves

to the Governor General," said Dona Victorina, in fury to her

husband. "You are not a man. It is a shame that you spend money

for trousers."

"B-b-but, wife, and the Guardia Civil? I-I-am lame."

"You must challenge him to a duel with pistol or sword or, or-"

And Dona Victorina looked at his false teeth.

"Daughter, I never have used-"

Dona Victorina did not let him finish. With a sublime movement she

jerked out his false teeth in the middle of the street, and throwing

them to the ground stepped on them. He, half crying, and she sputtering

away, arrived at the house. At that time, Linares was talking with

Maria Clara, Sinang, and Victoria, and, as he knew nothing about the

quarrel, the sudden arrival of his cousins gave him a shock. Maria

Clara was lying on a sofa among pillows and blankets, and was not a

little surprised at the doctor's new physiognomy.

"Cousin," said Dona Victorina, "you have got to challenge the alferez

immediately to a duel, or-"

"And why? what for?" asked Linares, surprised.

"You challenge him right off, or I will tell them all who you are."

"But, Dona Victorina!"

The three young women looked at one another.

"The alferez has insulted us. The old witch came down with her whip,

and that thing there allowed it all. A man!"

"Pshaw!" said Sinang. "They have been fighting and we haven't seen it."

"The alferez has broken the doctor's teeth," added Victoria.

"This very day we are going to Manila. You stay here to challenge

him to a duel, and, if you don't, I'll tell Don Santiago that all

that you have told him is a lie. I will tell him-"

"But, Dona Victorina! Dona Victorina!" interrupted Linares, pale

and going closer to her. "You keep quiet. Don't make me call to

mind"-and he added in a low voice-"Don't be imprudent, especially

just now."

Just at that time, when this was going on, Captain Tiago arrived home

from the cock-pit. He was downhearted. He had lost his lasak.

But Dona Victorina did not give him much time to sigh. In a few

words, and with many insults, she related to him what had passed,

she, of course, trying to put herself in a good light.

"Linares is going to challenge him. Do you hear? If he don't, I won't

let him marry your daughter. Don't you permit it. If he has no courage,

he does not merit Clarita."

"Then you are going to marry this gentleman?" asked Sinang, with her

jolly eyes full of tears. "I knew that you were discreet, but I did

not think you so fickle."

Maria Clara, pale as wax, raising herself half up, looked at her father

with frightened eyes, and then at Dona Victorina and Linares. The

latter turned red in the face, Captain Tiago looked down, and the

senora added:

"Clarita, bear it in mind, and never marry a man who does not wear

trousers. You expose yourself to insults like a dog, if you do."

But the young maiden did not reply and said to her friends:

"Take me to my room, for I cannot go alone."

They helped her to her feet, and, leaning her marble-like head on

pretty Sinang's shoulder, and, with the arms of her friend around

her waist, she went to her bedroom.

That night the doctor and his wife collected their things together,

submitted their account to Captain Tiago-which amounted to several

thousand pesos-and very early on the following day, left for Manila

in the Captain's carriage. To timid Linares they intrusted the role

of the avenger.


	30. 29

CHAPTER XXIX

THE ENIGMA.

As Lucas had announced, Ibarra arrived the next day. His first visit

was to the family of Captain Tiago, with the object of seeing Maria

Clara and telling her that His Most Illustrious Greatness had already

reconciled him with the Church. He brought a letter of recommendation

to the curate, written by the hand of the Archbishop himself. Aunt

Isabel was not a little delighted over it, for she liked the young

man and did not look favorably upon the marriage of her niece with

Linares. Captain Tiago was not at home.

"Come in," said the aunt in her half-Castellano language. "Maria,

Don Crisostomo is again in the grace of God. The Archbishop has

dis-excommunicated him."

But the young man could not advance. His smile froze on his lips, and

words fled from his mind. Linares was standing next to Maria Clara on

the balcony, interweaving nosegays with the flowers and leaves on the

climbing plants. On the floor, were scattered roses and sampagas. Maria

Clara was leaning back on a sofa, pale, pensive, her look sad, playing

with her ivory fan. But the fan was not as white as her poor fingers.

At the presence of Ibarra, Linares turned pale and Maria Clara's

cheeks were tinged with carmine. She tried to rise, but her strength

failing her, she cast her eyes upon the floor, and let fall her fan.

An embarrassing silence reigned for several seconds. Finally, Ibarra

was able to advance, and tremblingly murmured:

"I have just arrived and have hastened to see you... I find that

you are better than I thought."

Maria Clara seemed to have turned dumb. She could not pronounce a

single word, and continued to keep her eyes on the floor.

Ibarra surveyed Linares with a look which the modest young man bore

with considerable haughtiness.

"Well, I see that my arrival was not expected," he said slowly. "Maria,

pardon me for not having announced my coming. Some other day I will

be able to explain to you my conduct."

These words were accompanied with a look at Linares. The maiden

raised her eyes to Ibarra, those beautiful eyes, full of purity and

melancholy, so supplicating and sweet that Ibarra stopped confused.

"May I come to-morrow?"

"You know that on my part you are always welcome," replied she,

scarcely able to pronounce the words.

Ibarra walked away, apparently tranquil; but a tempest raged in his

mind, and his heart was chilled. What he had just seen and felt was

incomprehensible. What was it? Doubt, apathy or treason?

"Oh, woman!" he murmured.

He arrived, without noticing it, at the place where the school house

was being constructed. The work was well along. Nor Juan, with his

yard stick and plumb-line, was going to and fro among the numerous

workmen. On seeing the young man approach, he ran to meet him.

"Don Crisostomo," said he, "you have arrived at last. We were all

expecting you. Just see how the walls are rising. They are already

a meter and ten centimeters high. Within two days, they will be as

high as a man. I have not allowed them to use anything but the best

of wood. Do you want to look at the cellar?"

The workmen saluted him respectfully.

"Here is the system of drainage which I have taken the liberty to

add," said Nor Juan. "These underground canals lead to a cesspool

about thirty feet off. It will serve to fertilize the garden. This

was not in the plans. Do you object to it?"

"Quite on the contrary, I approve of it and I congratulate you on

your idea. You are a true architect. From whom did you learn the

profession?"

"From myself, senor," replied the modest old man.

"O, yes! Before I forget it: let the scrupulous people know (for

some may fear to speak to me) that I am no longer excommunicated. The

Archbishop invited me to dine with him."

"Pshaw! senor! We don't take any notice of excommunications. We are

all excommunicated. Dather Damaso is himself; however, he goes on,

as fat as ever."

"How's that?"

"I feel sure about it. A year ago he gave the coadjutor a blow with

his cane, and the coadjutor is as much a priest as he. Who takes any

notice of excommunications, senor?"

Ibarra caught sight of Elias among the workmen. He saluted him like

the others, but with a look that gave Ibarra to understand that he

wanted to speak with him.

"Nor Juan," said Ibarra, "will you bring me a list of the workmen?"

Nor Juan disappeared and Ibarra approached Elias, who was alone,

raising a large stone and loading it in a cart.

"If you are able, senor, to grant me some hours of conversation, come

this afternoon to the shore of the lake and embark in my banca, for I

want to talk with you about some serious matters," said Elias. Ibarra

gave a nod of assent and went away.

Nor Juan brought the list, but Ibarra read it in vain. The name of

Elias was not on it.


	31. 30

CHAPTER XXX

THE VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED.

Before the sun went down, Ibarra put his foot into Elias's banca

on the shore of the lake. He seemed displeased about something,

as though he had been opposed or contradicted.

"Pardon me, senor," said Elias on seeing him. "Pardon me for having

ventured to make this appointment with you. I would like to speak

with you freely, and here we have no witnesses. We can return within

an hour."

"You are mistaken, friend Elias," replied Ibarra, trying to smile. "You

will have to take me to that town over there, where you see that

belfry. Fate obliges me to go there."

"Fate?"

"Yes; on my way here, I met the alferez. He insisted upon accompanying

me. I thought about you, and knew that he would recognize you, and, in

order to get rid of him, I told him that I was going to that town. Now

I will have to remain there all day to-morrow, for the man whom I am

going to see will not look for me till to-morrow afternoon."

"I am obliged to you for your thoughtfulness, but you might have

simply told him to accompany you," replied Elias with naturalness.

"How's that? And what about you?"

"He would never have recognized me. The only time that he ever saw me,

I don't believe that he thought to take down a description of me."

"I am in hard luck!" sighed Ibarra, thinking of Maria Clara. "What

have you to say to me?"

Elias looked around him. They were far from the shore. The sun

had already sunk below the horizon, and, as the twilight in these

latitudes is very short, the darkness was falling over the earth,

and the disk of the full moon was already shining.

"Senor," replied Elias, in a grave voice, "I am the spokesman of many

unfortunate people."

"Unfortunate people. What do you mean?"

In a few words, Elias referred to the conversation which he had had

with the chief of the tulisanes, but omitted saying anything about the

doubts which the chief entertained, or the threats. Ibarra listened

attentively, and, when Elias concluded his story, a long silence

reigned. Ibarra was the first to break the spell.

"So that they desire-?"

"Radical reforms in the armed forces, in the religious matters,

and in the administration of justice. That is to say, they ask for

paternal care on the part of the Government."

"Reforms? In what sense?"

"For example: more respect for human dignity; more security for the

individual; less power in the hands of the forces already armed;

fewer privileges for that body which easily abuses them."

"Elias," replied the young man, "I don't know who you are, but

I believe that you are not an ordinary man. You think and work

differently from the others. You will understand me if I say to

you that, even if it is true that the present state of affairs is

defective, there will be a worse state if there is a change. I could

arrange to get the assistance of my friends in Madrid, by paying

them. I could speak to the Governor General, but all of that would

accomplish nothing. He has not enough power to introduce reforms,

nor would I ever take a step in that direction, for I know very well

that, if it is true that these religious corporations have their

defects, they are now necessities. They are what you might call a

necessary evil."

Elias raised his head and looked astonished.

"Do you believe, senor, in necessary evils?" he asked, his voice

slightly trembling. "Do you believe that in order to do good it is

necessary to do evil?"

"No. I look upon it as a violent remedy which we have to make use of

to cure an illness. To illustrate further, the country is an organism

which is suffering from a chronic illness, and, in order to cure it,

the Government finds itself compelled to use medicines, hard and

violent, if you wish, but useful and necessary."

"He is a bad doctor, senor, who seeks to cure the symptoms and suppress

them without trying to find the origin of the illness, or knowing it,

fears to attack it. The Guardia Civil has no other end than this:

the suppression of crime by terror and force. This end it neither

fulfills nor carries out except in chance instances. And you have

to take into account that society can be severe with individuals

only after she has furnished all means necessary for their perfect

morality. In our country, since there is no society, since the

people and the Government do not form a unity, the latter ought to

be indulgent, not only because indulgence is necessary, but because

the individual, neglected and abandoned by Government, has less self

responsibility than if he had been enlightened. Besides, following out

your comparison, the medicine applied to the evils of the country is

so much of a destroyer that its effect is only felt on the sane parts

of the organism. These it weakens and injures. Would it not be more

reasonable to fortify and strengthen the infirm organism and minimize

a little the violence of the medicine?"

"To weaken the Guardia Civil would be to put the security of the

towns in danger."

"The security of the towns!" exclaimed Elias with bitterness. "The

towns have had the Guardia Civil for nearly fifteen years and

what is the result? We still have tulisanes, we still hear of them

sacking towns, and they still make their attacks on people on the

roads. Robberies continue and the robbers are not punished. Crime

exists and the real criminal goes free, but not so with the peaceful

inhabitants of the town. Ask any honorable citizen if he looks upon

this institution as a good, as a protection by the Government, or

as an imposition, a despotism whose excesses do more harm than the

violence of the criminals. Communication between people is paralyzed,

for they fear to be maltreated for trifling causes. More importance

is attached to the formality of the law than to the basal principle

of it,-the first symptom of incapacity in government. The heads of

the organization consider it their first duty to make people salute

them, either of their own will or by force, even in the darkness of

night. In this, their inferior officers imitate them and maltreat

and fleece the poor countrymen. There is no such thing as sacredness

of the fireside. There is no security for the individual. What have

the people accomplished by overcoming their wrath and by waiting for

justice at the hands of others? Ah! senor, if you call that preserving

the order-"

"I agree with you that there are evils," replied Ibarra. "But we

have to accept those evils for the good which accompanies them. This

institution may be imperfect, but believe me, by the terror which it

inspires, it prevents the number of criminals from increasing."

"You might better say that by that terror it increases the number

of criminals," said Elias, correcting him. "Before this body was

created, almost all the evildoers, with the exception of a very few,

were criminals because of their hunger. They pillaged and robbed in

order to live. That famine once passed over and hunger once satisfied,

the roads were again free from criminals. It was sufficient to have

the poor but valiant cuaderilleros chase them, with their imperfect

arms-that body of men so often calumniated by those who have written

upon our country, those men who have three legal rights, to do their

duty, to fight and to die. And for all that, a jest as recompense. Now

there are tulisanes who will be tulisanes all their lives. A crime

inhumanly punished, resistance against the excesses of the power

which inflicts such punishment, and fear that other atrocities may

be inflicted-these make them forever members of that society who

are bound by oath to kill and die [21]. The terrorism of the Guardia

Civil impressed upon them closes forever the doors to repentance. And

as a tulisan fights and defends himself in the mountains better than

a soldier, whom he scorns, the result is that we are incapable of

abating the evil which we have created. Call to mind what the prudent

Governor General de la Torre did. The amnesty which he granted to

these unhappy people has proved that in these mountains the hearts

of men still beat, and only await pardon. Terrorism is useful only

when the people are enslaved, when the mountains have no caverns,

when the governing power can station a sentry behind every tree, and

when the slave has in his body nothing but a stomach. But when the

desperado who fights for his life feels the strong arm of that power,

then his heart beats and his being fills with passion. Can terrorism

put out the fire which-"

"It confuses me, Elias, to hear you talk so. I would believe that

you were right if I did not have my own convictions. But note this

point-and do not be offended, for I do not include you-I look

upon you as an exception-consider who those are who ask for this

reform. Almost all are criminals or people who are in the way of

becoming such."

"Criminals or future criminals; but why are they so? Because their

peace has been disturbed, their happiness taken away from them,

their dearest affections wounded, and, after asking protection from

Justice, they have been convinced that they can secure it only by

their own hands, by their own efforts. But you are mistaken, senor,

if you believe that only criminals ask for it. Go from town to town,

from house to house. Listen to the secret sighings of the family and

you will be convinced that the evils which the Guardia Civil causes

are equal to if not greater than those which it corrects. Would you

conclude then that all the citizens are criminals? Then, why defend

them from the others? Why not destroy them?"

"There is some flaw in your reasoning which escapes me now. In Spain,

the Mother Country, this body lends and has lent very useful services."

"I do not doubt it. Perhaps there it is better organized; the personnel

more select. Perhaps, too, Spain needs such a body, but the Philippines

do not. Our customs, our mode of living, which are always cited when

any one wants to deny us a right, are totally forgotten when some

one wants to impose something on us. And tell me, senor, why have not

other nations adopted this institution, other nations which resemble

Spain more than do the Philippines? Is it due to the efforts of such an

institution that other nations have fewer robberies of the railways,

fewer riots, fewer assassinations, and less hand-to-hand fighting in

their great capitals?"

Ibarra bowed his head in meditation. Afterward he raised it and

replied:

"That question, my friend, needs serious study. If my investigations

tell me that these complaints are well founded, I will write to my

friends in Madrid, since we have no deputies to represent us. In the

meantime, believe me, the Government needs a body like the Guardia

Civil, which has unlimited power, in order to make the people respect

its authority and the laws imposed."

"That would be all right, senor, if the Government were at war

with the country; but, for the good of the Government, we ought

not to make the people believe that they are in opposition to the

law. Furthermore, if that were the case, if we preferred force to

prestige, we ought to look well to whom we give this unlimited force

or power, this authority. Such great power in the hands of men, and

ignorant men at that, men full of passion, without moral education,

without tested honor-such a thing is a weapon in the hands of a

maniac in a multitude of unarmed people. I grant and I will agree

with you that the Government needs this weapon, but let it choose

that weapon well; let it choose the most worthy men to bear it."

Elias was speaking with enthusiasm and with fervor. His eyes glistened

and his voice vibrated. Then followed a solemn pause. The banca, no

longer propelled by the paddle, floated tranquilly on the waves. The

moon was shining majestically from a sapphire sky. Some lights were

glimmering on the shore.

"And what more do they ask?" said Ibarra.

"Reforms in the priesthood," responded Elias, in a discouraged and

sad tone of voice. "The unfortunates ask more protection against-"

"Against the religious orders?"

"Against their oppressors, senor."

"Have the Filipinos forgotten what they owe to these orders? Have they

forgotten the immense debt of gratitude they owe to them for having

saved them from error and given them the Faith? What they owe to them

for protection against the civil power? Here is one of the evils which

result from not teaching the history of the country in our schools."

Elias, surprised, could scarcely give credit to what he heard.

"Senor," he replied in a grave voice. "You accuse the people of

ingratitude: permit me, one of those who suffer, to defend the

people. Favors, in order to be recognized as such, must be done by

persons with disinterested motives. Let us consider in a general

way the mission of the orders, of Christian charity, that threadbare

subject. Let us lay history aside. Let us not ask what Spain did with

the Jews, who gave all Europe a Book, a religion and a God! Let us not

ask what Spain has done with the Arabic people who gave her culture,

who were tolerant in religion and who reawakened in her a pure national

love, fallen into lethargy and almost destroyed by the domination of

Romans and Goths. Let us omit all that. Do you say that these orders

have given us the Faith and have saved us from error? Do you call those

outward ceremonies, faith? Do you call that commerce in straps and

scapularies religion? Do you call those miracles and stories which we

hear every day truth? Is that the law of Jesus Christ? To teach such

a faith as this it was not at all necessary that a God should allow

himself to be crucified. Superstition existed long before the friars

came here; it was only necessary to perfect it and to raise the price

of the traffic. Will you tell me that although our religion of to-day

is imperfect, it is better than that which we had before? I will agree

with you in that and grant it; but we have purchased it at too high

a price if we have had to renounce our nationality and independence

for it; when for it, we have given to the priests our best towns,

our fields, and still give them our little savings in order to buy

religious objects. A foreign industry has been introduced among us;

we pay well for it, and are in peace. If you speak of the protection

they have afforded us against the civil governors of the provinces,

I would reply that through them we fall under the power of these

governors. However, I recognize that a true Faith, and a true love

for humanity guided the first missionaries who came to our shores. I

recognize the debt of gratitude which is due those noble hearts. I

know that in those days Spain abounded in heroes of all kinds, as well

in religion as in politics, as well in civil life as in military. But

because the forefathers were virtuous, should we consent to the abuses

practiced by their degenerate descendants? Because a great good has

been done for us, are we guilty if we prevent ourselves from being

harmed? The country does not ask for abolition of the priesthood; it

only asks for reforms which new circumstances and new needs require."

"I love our country as you love it, Elias. I understand to some

extent what you desire. I have heard with attention what you have

said; yet, despite all of that, my friend, I believe we are looking

upon it with a little prejudice. Here, less than in other things,

I see the necessity of reforms."

"Can it be possible, senor," said Elias, discouraged and stretching

out his hands. "Do you not see the necessity of reforms, you whose

family-"

"Ah! I forget myself and I forget my own injuries for the sake of

the security of the Philippines, for the sake of the interests of

Spain," interrupted Ibarra eagerly. "To preserve the Philippines it

is necessary that the friars continue as they are, and in union with

Spain lies the welfare of our country."

Ibarra had ceased speaking, but Elias continued to listen. His face

was sad, his eyes had lost their brilliancy.

"The missionaries conquered the country, it is true," he said. "Do

you think that Spain will be able to keep the Philippines through

the instrumentality of the friars?"

"Yes, only through the friars. This is the belief held by all who

have written on the Philippines."

"Oh!" exclaimed Elias, discouraged and throwing his paddle into the

bottom of the banca. "I did not think that you had so poor a conception

of the Government and of the country."

Ibarra replied: "I love our country, not only because it is the

duty of all men to love the country to which they owe their being,

not only because my father taught me so; but also because my mother

was a native, an Indian, and because all my most beautiful memories

live in these islands. I love it too, because I owe it my happiness

and will continue to do so."

"And I, I love it because I owe to it my misfortunes," said Elias.

"Yes, my friend, I know that you are suffering, that you are

unfortunate, and that this makes you see a dark future and influences

your way of thinking. For this reason, I make allowance for your

complaints. If I were able to appreciate the motives, if I had known

part of that past-"

"My misfortunes have another source. If I had known that they would

have been of usefulness, I would have related them, for aside from

that, I make no secret of them. They are well enough known by many."

"Perhaps knowing them would rectify my opinions. You know I do not

rely much upon theories; facts are better guides."

Elias remained pensive for some moments.

"If that is the case, senor," he replied, "I will relate briefly the

history of my misfortunes."


	32. 31

CHAPTER XXXI

ELIAS'S FAMILY.

"Some sixty years ago my grandfather lived in Manila and kept books

for a Spanish merchant. My grandfather was then very young, but was

married and had a son. One night, without any one knowing the cause,

the store-house was burned. The fire spread to the store and from the

store to many others. The losses were very heavy. Search was made for

the incendiary, and the merchant accused my grandfather. In vain he

protested and, as he was poor and could not pay celebrated lawyers,

he was condemned to be whipped publicly and to be led through the

streets of Manila. It was not a great while ago that this infamous

punishment was still in use here. It was a thousand times worse than

death itself. My grandfather, abandoned by everybody except his wife,

was tied to a horse and, followed by a cruel multitude, was whipped on

every corner, in the sight of men, his brothers, and in the vicinity of

the numerous temples of the God of Peace. When the unfortunate man,

disgraced forever, had satisfied the punishment by his blood, his

tortures and his cries, they untied him from the horse, for he had

become unconscious. Would to God he had died! As a refined cruelty,

they gave him liberty. His wife, embarrassed with a child at the time,

begged in vain from door to door for work or alms that she might care

for her sick husband and the poor son. But who would have confidence

in the wife of an infamous man guilty of arson? The wife, then,

had to give herself up to prostitution."

Ibarra started from his seat.

"Oh! do not be disturbed! Prostitution was not the only dishonor

which she and her husband suffered. Honor and shame no longer existed

for them. The husband cured his wounds, and, with his wife and son,

hid in the mountains of this province. Here the woman brought forth

a still-born child, deformed and full of disease. In the mountains,

they lived for several months, miserable, isolated, hated and fleeing

from all. Unable to endure the misery, less valorous than his wife,

and growing desperate at seeing her ill and deprived of all aid and

comfort, my grandfather hanged himself. The body rotted in the sight of

the son, who was now scarcely able to take care of his sick mother. The

bad odor of the rotting corpse disclosed it to Justice. My grandmother

was accused and condemned for not having given notice. The death of

her husband was attributed to her and people believed it. For, what

is a wife of a wretch not capable of doing after having prostituted

herself? If she took oath, they said she perjured herself; if she wept,

they said that it was false; and if she invoked God, they said she

blasphemed. However, they had some consideration for her and waited

for her to give birth to a child before whipping her. You know that

the friars spread the belief that the only way to deal with the

natives is with the whip. Read what Father Gaspar de San Augustin says.

"Thus condemned, the woman cursed the day when she would give

birth to the child, and this not only prolonged her punishment, but

violated her maternal sentiments. The woman delivered the child, and

unfortunately the child was born robust. Two months later the sentence

of whipping which had been imposed upon her was carried out, to the

great satisfaction of the people, who thought that in this way they

were fulfilling their duty. No longer able to be at peace in these

mountains she fled with her two sons to a neighboring province and

there they lived like wild beasts: hating and hated. The older boy,

remembering his happy infancy and its contrast with such great misery,

became a tulisan as soon as he had sufficient strength. Before long

the bloody name of Balat extended from province to province; it was

the terror of the towns and the people, for he took his revenge with

fire and blood. The younger boy, who had received from Nature a good

heart, resigned himself to his lot at his mother's side. They lived

on what the forests afforded them; they dressed in the rags that

travellers threw away. The mother had lost her good name, she was now

known only by such titles as the 'criminal,' the 'prostitute,' and the

'horse-whipped woman.' The younger brother was known only as the son of

his mother, because he had such a pleasant disposition that they did

not believe him to be the son of the incendiary. Finally the famous

Balat fell one day into the hands of Justice. Society had taught him

no good, but he was asked to account for his crimes. One morning as

the younger boy was looking for his mother, who had gone to gather

mushrooms from the forest, and had not yet returned, he found her

lying on the ground by the roadside, under a cotton-tree. Her face

was turned toward the sky, her eyes were torn from their sockets, and

her rigid fingers were buried in the blood-stained earth. It occurred

to the young man to raise his eyes and follow the direction in which

his mother had been looking, and there from a limb of a tree he saw

a basket, and in that basket the bloody head of his brother."

"My God!" exclaimed Ibarra.

"That is what my father must have exclaimed," continued Elias,

coldly. "The men had cut the highwayman into quarters and buried him

in a trunk of a tree. But the limbs were saved, and were hung up in

different towns. If you go some time from Calamba to Santo Tomas you

will still find the rotting leg of my uncle hanging from a lomboy

tree. Nature has cursed the tree and it neither grows nor gives

fruit. They did the same thing with the other members of his body,

but the head, the head, as the best part of the man and that part which

can be most easily recognized, they hung before the mother's cabin."

Ibarra bowed his head.

"The young man fled like one that is accursed," continued Elias. "He

fled from town to town, through mountains and valleys, and when at

last he thought he was not recognized by any one, he began to work

in the store of a rich man in the province of Tayabas. His activity,

his agreeable disposition, won for him the esteem of those who did

not know his past life. By working and saving he managed to make

a little capital, and, as the misery had passed away, and, as he

was young, he thought that he would be happy. His good appearance,

his youth, and his quite unencumbered position won for him the love

of a girl in the town, but he did not dare to ask for her hand, for

fear that she might learn of his past. But love became too strong

and both erred. The man, in order to save the honor of the woman,

risked all; he asked her to marry him, the papers were looked up and

all was disclosed. The girl's father was rich and began to prosecute

the man. The latter, however, did not try to defend himself, admitted

it all and was sent to jail. The young woman gave birth to a boy and a

girl. They were brought up in seclusion and made to believe that their

father was dead. This was not difficult, for while the children were

still young they saw their mother die, and they thought little about

investigating their genealogy. As our grandfather was very rich, our

youth was happy. My sister and I were educated together, we loved each

other as only twins can when they know no other love. While very young,

I went to study in the Jesuit College, and my sister, in order that

we might not be entirely separated, went to the Concordia boarding

school. Our short education having been ended, for we only wished

to be farmers, we returned to the town to take possession of the

inheritance which was left us by our grandfather. We lived happily

for some time; the future smiled on us; we had many servants; our

fields bore good crops; and my sister was on the eve of being married

to a young man who loved her and to whom she was well suited. On

account of some pecuniary questions, and, because my character was

then haughty, I lost the good will of a distant relative, and he

threw in my face one day my dark birth and my infamous ancestry. I

thought it a calumny and demanded satisfaction. The tomb in which so

much grief was sleeping was opened again and the truth came out. I

was confounded. To make the misfortune greater, we had had for some

years an old servant who had always suffered all my caprices without

ever leaving us. He contented himself by weeping and crying while

the other servants jested with him. I do not know how my relative

found it out; the fact is that he summoned this old man before the

court and made him tell the truth. The old servant was my father,

who had stuck fast to his dear children and whom I had maltreated many

times. Our happiness disappeared: I renounced our fortune; my sister

lost her lover; and with our father we abandoned the town to go to

some other point. The thought of having contributed to our disgrace

and misfortune, cut short the life of the old man, from whose lips

was learned all the sorrowful past. My sister and I were left alone.

"She wept a great deal, but, amid such grief as they piled upon us,

she could not forget her love. Without complaining, without saying a

word, she saw her old lover marry another girl, and I saw her a little

later gradually become ill, without being able to console her. One

day she disappeared. In vain I searched for her everywhere; in vain

I asked for her for six months. Afterward I learned that during the

time while I was searching for her, one day when the water had risen

in the lake, there had been found on the beach at Calamba the body of

a girl, either drowned or assassinated. She had, they say, a knife

piercing her breast. The authorities of Calamba published the fact

in the neighboring towns. Nobody presented himself to claim the body;

no young woman had disappeared. From the description which they gave

me afterward, from the dress, the rings, the beauty of her face and

her very abundant hair, I recognized her as my poor sister. From that

time, I have been wandering from province to province. My fame and

history are in the mouths of many people; they attribute all sorts

of deeds to me; at times they calumniate me; but I take no notice of

men and continue on my way. I have here briefly related my history,

and that of a judgment at the hands of mankind."

Elias became silent and continued rowing.

"I believe that you are not wrong," murmured Ibarra, in a low voice,

"when you say that justice ought to procure the welfare of the

people by lifting up the criminals and by raising the standard of

their morality. Only ... that is impossible-a Utopia. And then,

where is the money for so many new employees to come from?"

"And what are the priests for, the priests who proclaim peace and

charity as their mission? Is it more meritorious for a priest to wet

the head of a child, to give it salt to eat, than to awaken in the

darkened conscience of a criminal that spark, given by God to every

man, that he may seek to do good? Is it more human to accompany a

criminal to the gallows than to accompany him through the difficult

path which leads from vice to virtue? Are not spies, executioners and

Guardias Civiles paid? The latter institution, besides being an evil,

also costs money."

"My friend, neither you nor I, although we wish it, can accomplish it."

"Alone we are nothing, it is true. Take up the cause of the people,

unite them, listen to their voices, give others an example to follow,

give them the idea of what is called a fatherland, a patria!"

"What the people ask for is impossible. We must wait."

"To wait, to wait, is equivalent to suffering!"

"If I should ask it, they would laugh at me."

"And if the people should sustain you?"

"Never! I would never be the one to lead the multitude and accomplish

by force what the Government does not believe is opportune. No! If I

ever saw the multitude armed for such a purpose, I would put myself on

the side of the Government. And I would fight it, for in such a mob I

would not see my country. I wish for its welfare: that is the reason

that I am erecting the school-house. I look for it through means of

instruction, education and progress. Without light there is no road."

"Nor without fighting is there liberty," replied Elias.

"I do not care for that kind of liberty."

"Without liberty there is no light," replied the pilot with

enthusiasm. "You say that you know very little about our country. I

believe it. You do not see the fight that is impending. You do not see

the cloud on the horizon. The combat begins in the sphere of ideas, and

then descends to the arena to tinge it with blood. I hear the voice of

God. Woe to them who resist it. History has not been written for them."

Elias was transformed. As he stood up, his head uncovered, his manly

face illumined by the moonlight, there was something extraordinary

about him. He shook his long hair and continued:

"Do you not see how all is awakening? Sleep has lasted for centuries,

but one day a thunderbolt will fall and new life will be called

forth. New tendencies are animating the spirits, and these tendencies

to-day separated, will be united some day, and will be guided by

God. God has not failed other peoples, nor will he fail ours. Their

cause is liberty."

A solemn silence followed these words. In the meantime, the banca

carried along imperceptibly by the waves, neared the shore. Elias

was the first to break the silence.

"What have I to say to those who have sent me?" he asked, changing

the tone of his voice.

"I have already told you that I greatly deplore their condition,

but for them to wait, since evils are not cured by other evils. In

our misfortune, we are all at fault."

Elias did not insist further. He bowed his head, continued rowing and,

bringing the banca up to the shore, took leave of Ibarra saying:

"I thank you, Senor, for your condescension. For your own interests

I ask you in the future to forget me, and never to recognize me in

whatever place you may meet me."

And saying this, he turned his banca and rowed in the direction of a

dense thicket on the beach. He seemed to observe only the millions of

diamonds which his paddle lifted and which fell back into the lake,

where they soon disappeared in the mystery of the blue waves.

Finally, he arrived at the place toward which he had been rowing. A

man came out of the thicket and approached him:

"What shall I tell the captain?" he asked.

"Tell him that Elias, if he does not die before, will fulfill his

word," he replied gloomily.

"Then when will you meet us?"

"When your captain thinks that the hour of danger has come."

"All right. Good-bye!"

"If I do not die before," murmured Elias.


	33. 32

CHAPTER XXXII

CHANGES.

The modest Linares was serious and very uneasy. He had just received a

letter from Dona Victorina which, translated from the most illiterate

Spanish, and omitting its many errors in spelling and punctuation,

was as follows:

"Esteemed Cousin:-Within three days I want to know from

you if you have killed the alferez or he you. I don't want

another day to pass without this animal being punished. If this

length of time passes and still you have not challenged him,

I will tell Don Santiago that you never were secretary and

that you never joked with Canovas or with General Martinez. I

will tell Clarita that it is all a lie and I will not give

you another cuarto. If you challenge him, I promise you all

that you wish. If you do not challenge him, I will accept no

excuses or reasons.

"Your cousin who loves you in her heart.

"Victorina de los Reyes de de Espadana.

"Sampalog, Monday Eve, 7 o'clock."

It was a serious matter. Linares knew Dona Victorina's character

and knew what she was capable of doing. To reason with her was out

of the question; to beg was useless; to deceive her worse. There was

no other remedy than to challenge.

"But what can I do?" he said to himself, as he was walking alone. "If

he receives me harshly? If I meet his wife? Who would want to be

my second? The curate? Captain Tiago? Cursed be the hour in which I

gave ear to her advice! What will this senorita say about me? Now I

am sorry to have been secretary to all the ministers."

The good Linares was in this sad soliloquy when Father Salvi

arrived. The Franciscan was certainly thinner and paler than usual,

but his eyes shone with a peculiar light and a strange smile was seen

on his lips.

"Senor Linares, all alone?" saluted the priest and directed his steps

to the sala, through the half open door of which notes of the piano

were heard.

Linares restrained a smile.

"And Don Santiago?" added the curate.

Captain Tiago presented himself at that moment, kissed the curate's

hand, took the Father's hat and cane and smiled like one who had

been blessed.

"Well, well!" said the curate, going into the sala, followed by

Linares and Captain Tiago. "I have good news from Manila which you

will all enjoy. I have received letters from Manila which confirm the

one which Senor Ibarra brought me yesterday-so that, Don Santiago,

the impediment is removed."

Maria Clara was seated at the piano between her two girl friends. She

half rose to her feet at this remark, but her strength failed her and

she sat down again. Linares turned pale and looked at Captain Tiago,

who turned his eyes to the floor.

"This young man really seems to me a very nice fellow," continued the

curate. "At first, I judged him bad-he is a little quick-tempered. But

he knows so well how to atone for his faults afterward, that one cannot

hold any grudge against him. If it were not for Father Damaso..." And

the curate directed a quick glance at Maria Clara. She was listening

to all that was going on but without taking her eyes off the music-in

spite of the concealed pinches which Sinang gave her to express her

joy. Had she been alone, she would have danced.

"Father Damaso?" asked Linares without finishing the sentence.

"Yes," continued the curate. "Father Damaso has said that as

... godfather he could not permit ... but I believe that if finally,

Senor Ibarra asks pardon, which I do not doubt he will do, all will

be arranged."

Maria Clara arose, made an excuse and retired to her room, accompanied

by Victoria.

"And if Father Damaso does not pardon him?" asked Captain Tiago,

in a low voice.

"Then Maria Clara will see that Father Damaso is her spiritual

father. But I believe that they will come to an understanding."

At that moment, steps were heard and Ibarra appeared, followed by

Aunt Isabel. His presence on the scene produced a varied effect. He

saluted Captain Tiago affably, the latter not knowing whether to

smile or to weep; to Linares he bowed profoundly. Father Salvi arose

and extended his hand to him so affectionately that Ibarra could not

suppress a look of surprise.

"Do not think it strange," said Father Salvi. "I was just paying you

a compliment."

Ibarra thanked him and approached Sinang.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked, with a childish laugh. "We

have been asking each other, 'Where could this soul redeemed from

purgatory have gone?' Each one of us gave a different answer."

"And will you not tell what you said?"

"No, that is a secret; but I will surely tell you in private. Now

tell us where you have been so that we can see who has been able to

guess it."

"No, that also is a secret; but I will tell you alone, if the senores

will permit."

"Certainly, certainly!" said Father Salvi.

Sinang took Crisostomo to one end of the hall. She was very happy

with the idea of knowing a secret.

"Tell me, my little friend," said Ibarra, "Is Maria angry with me?"

"I do not know, but she says that it is better that you should forget

her and then begins to cry. Captain Tiago wants her to marry that

gentleman; Father Damaso also wishes it; but she says neither yes

nor no. This morning when we were asking for you, I said: 'What

if he has gone to make love to some one else?' She replied to me:

'Would to God that he had!' and then began to cry."

Ibarra was serious.

"Tell Maria that I want to speak with her alone."

"Alone?" asked Sinang, knitting her eyebrows and looking at him.

"Entirely alone, no. But so that we may not be seen by that other

senor."

"It is difficult, but don't worry. I will tell her."

"And when will I know the answer?"

"To-morrow come to the house early. Maria never wants to be alone. We

keep her company. Victoria sleeps by her side one night, and I

the next. To-morrow night it is my turn. But listen: What is the

secret? You are going without telling me the principal thing."

"That is true. I was in the town of Los Banos. I went up there to do

some business in cocoanut trees, since I am thinking of building a

factory. Your father will be my partner."

"Nothing more than that? Give us the secret!" exclaimed Sinang in a

loud voice and in the tone of a defrauded usurer. "I thought-"

"Take care. I don't want you to tell it."

"I have no desire to!" replied Sinang, sticking up her nose. "If it

were something more important, I would tell it to my friends. But to

buy cocoanuts! cocoanuts! Who is interested in cocoanuts?"

And she went away in haste to find her girl friends.

A few moments afterward, Ibarra seeing that the conversation was

lagging, took leave of the gathering. Captain Tiago's expression

was between sweet and sour; Linares was silent and observing; and

the curate, feigning to be joyful, was telling stories. None of the

girls had returned.


	34. 33

CHAPTER XXXIII

PLAYING CARDS WITH THE SHADES.

A cloudy sky hides the moon, and a cold wind, the omen of approaching

December, whirls the dry leaves and dust in the narrow path leading

to the cemetery.

Under the gate, three forms are conversing in a low tone.

"Have you spoken to Elias?" asked a voice.

"No; you know he is very odd and discreet. But he ought to be with

us. Don Crisostomo saved his life."

"I accepted the offer for the same reason," said the first voice. "Don

Crisostomo is having my wife treated at a doctor's house in Manila. I

have agreed to take charge of the convent in the attack, so that I

can settle my accounts with the curate."

"And we, we will have charge of the attack on the cuartel, so that we

can say to the members of the Guardia Civil that our father had sons."

"How many will there be of you?"

"Five! Five will be enough. Don Crisostomo's servant says that there

will be twenty in all."

"And if things don't turn out well?"

"St!" said one, and they all became silent.

In the semi-darkness, a form could be seen crawling along the

fence. From time to time it stopped, as if to look behind.

And it did so not without reason. Behind, at some twenty paces,

came another form. This one was taller and seemed to be darker than

the first. Each time that the first stopped this second one would

disappear as if the earth had swallowed it.

"They are following me," murmured the one ahead. "Is it a Guardia

Civil? Has the sacristan lied?"

"It appears that the appointment is here," said the second, in a low

voice. "They are up to something bad, when the two brothers hide it

from me."

The first form finally arrived at the gate of the cemetery. The three

who were already there advanced.

"Is it you?"

"Is it you?"

"Let us separate. Some one is following me. To-morrow we will have

the arms and to-morrow night will be our time. The cry is 'Viva Don

Crisostomo!' Begone!"

The three persons disappeared behind the wall. The recent arrival

hid himself in the hollow of the gate and waited silently.

"Let's see who is following me!" he murmured.

The second person came along very cautiously, and stopped to look

around.

"I have arrived late!" said he in a half intelligible voice. "But

perhaps they will return."

And, as a fine rain began to fall and threatened to continue, he took

refuge under the gate. Naturally, he met the other.

"Ah! who are you?" asked the one who had just come up, in a manly

voice.

"And who are you?" replied the other tranquilly.

There was a moment's pause. Each tried to recognize the other by the

tone of his voice and to distinguish the other's features.

"What are you waiting here for?" asked the one with the heavy voice.

"Till the clock strikes eight, so as to have a game of cards with

the dead. I want to win some money to-night," replied the other,

in an ordinary tone. "And you: what do you come here for?"

"A-a-for the same thing."

"Well! I am glad. So I will not be without a companion. I have brought

some cards. At the first stroke of the bell, I put down the albur

(the first two cards put on the board in monte). At the second stroke,

I put down the gallo (the second pair). The cards which move after I

have put them down, are those which the dead choose for themselves. Did

you also bring some cards?"

"No."

"Then?"

"It is simple. Just as you act as 'banker' for them, so I hope that

they will 'bank' for me." (In monte the banker deals the cards and

bets that one of the cards in either the albur or gallo is turned up

by dealing off the pack, before the card chosen by the other person

is turned up. A banker can play against two others.)

"And if the shades do not care to 'bank'?"

"What can be done? The game is not obligatory upon the dead."

There was a moment's silence.

"Did you come armed? What if you have to fight with the shades of

the dead?"

"I'll use my fists," replied the taller of the two.

"Ah! The devil! Now, I remember! The dead do not bet when there is

more than one live person around. There are two of us."

"Is that true? Well, I don't want to go away."

"Nor I. I need some money," replied the smaller one. "But let us do

this: We will decide by the cards which one shall go away."

"All right!" replied the other, showing a certain amount of

displeasure.

"Then let us go in. Have you any matches?"

They entered the cemetery and in the obscurity they searched for a

place where they might decide the question with the cards. They soon

found a niche upon which they sat down. The shorter one took from

his hat some playing cards and the other lighted a match.

Each one looked at the other in the light which the match made, but,

judging from the expression on their faces, they did not recognize

each other. However, we can recognize in the taller one, the one with

the manly voice, Elias; and in the smaller one, Lucas, with the scar

on his cheek.

"Cut the cards!" said the latter, without ceasing to look at the other.

He pushed aside some bones which were found on the niche and turned up

an ace and a jack for the albur. Elias lighted one match after another.

"On the jack!" said he and, in order to show which of the cards he

was betting on, he placed upon it a piece of vertebrae.

"I deal!" said Lucas and, after turning up four or five cards, an

ace came up.

"You have lost," he added. "Now leave me alone so that I may win

some money."

Elias, without saying a word, disappeared in the darkness.

Some minutes afterward, the clock in the church struck eight and the

bell announced the hour of prayer. But Lucas did not invite anybody

to play with him. He did not call out the shades, as superstition

demanded. Instead, he uncovered his head, murmured some prayers and

crossed himself with the same fervor as the chief of the Brotherhood

of the Most Sacred Rosary would have done at that moment.

The drizzling rain continued all night. At nine o'clock the streets

were dark and lonely. The little cocoanut oil lanterns, which each

citizen had to hang out in front of his house gave light scarcely a

meter around. It seemed as though they had been lighted so one might

see the darkness.

Two Civil Guards were walking from one side of the street to the

other near the church.

"It is cold," said one in Tagalog with a Visayan accent. "We aren't

catching any sacristans. There is nobody to clean out the alferez's hen

yard and we ought to catch some sacristan and make him do it. Since

that one was killed, they have taken warning. I am getting tired

of this."

"So am I," replied the other. "Nobody commits any robbery; no one

disturbs the peace; but, thank God, they say that Elias is in town. The

alferez says that the one who catches him will be free from whippings

for three months."

"Ah! Do you know his identification marks?" asked the Visayan.

"I certainly do! Stature, tall, according to the alferez's description;

ordinary, according to the description of Father Damaso; color,

brunette; eyes, black; nose, regular; mouth, regular; beard, none;

hair, black."

"Ah! And particular marks?"

"Camisa, black; pantaloons, black; a wood-cutter-"

"Ah! He will not escape. I think I see him already."

"I don't confuse him with anybody else, although you might think so."

Both soldiers continued their beats.

By the light of the lantern two forms could again be seen, one

following the other cautiously. A forcible "Quien vive?" stops them

both. The first one replied "Espana," in a trembling voice.

The two soldiers drag him along and bring him up to the light,

to recognize him. It was Lucas, but the soldiers were in doubt and

questioned each other with a glance.

"The alferez said nothing about his having a scar," said the Visayan

in a low voice. "Where are you going?"

"To order a mass for to-morrow."

"Have you not seen Elias?"

"I do not know him, senor," replied Lucas.

"You dunce! I am not asking if you know him. Nor do we know him. I

am asking you if you have seen him."

"No, senor."

"Listen closely. I will give you his description. Stature, at times

tall, at times regular; skin and eyes, black; all the others are

regular," said the Visayan. "Do you know him now?"

"No, senor," replied Lucas, frightened.

"Then, sulung! (Go along). You brute! You ass!" And they gave him

a shove.

"Do you know why Elias is tall, according to the alferez, and why he

is short, according to the curate?" asked the Tagalog of the other.

"No."

"Because the alferez was stuck in a mud hole when he observed him,

and the curate was on foot when he saw him."

"That's right!" exclaimed the Visayan. "You are bright. Why are you

a Guardia Civil?"

"I haven't been always. I was a smuggler at one time," replied the

Tagalog boastingly.

But another form attracted their attention. They called out "Quien

Vive?" and brought him up to the light. This time it was Elias himself.

"Where are you going?"

"I am pursuing, senor, a man who has whipped and threatened my

brother. He has a scar on his face and his name is Elias-"

"Ha?" exclaimed the two, and looked at each other frightened.

And at once they started on a run toward the church, where a few

minutes before Lucas had disappeared.


	35. 34

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE DISCOVERY.

The bell announces the hour of evening prayer. On hearing the

religious sound, all stop, leave their work and uncover their heads;

the laborer, coming from the fields on the carabao's back, suspends

the song to which the animal keeps step, and prays; the women in the

middle of the street make the sign of the cross, and move their lips

with affectation so that no one may doubt their devotion: the man

stops fondling his game-cock and recites the Angelus so that he may

have good luck; in the houses, they pray in a loud voice ... every

sound which is not a part of the Ave Maria is dissipated, silenced.

However, the curate, without his hat, hastily crosses the street,

scandalizing many old women. And still more scandalous, he directs

his steps towards the alferez's house. The devout women think that

it is time for them to stop the movement of their lips and to kiss

the curate's hand, but Father Salvi takes no notice of them. To-day

he finds no pleasure in placing his bony hand under a Christian's

nose. Some important business must be occupying him that he should

so forget his own interests and those of the Church!

He goes up the stairs and knocks impatiently at the alferez's door. The

latter appears, his eyebrows knit and followed by his better half,

who smiles malignantly.

"Ah, Father Curate! I was just going to see you. Your he-goat..."

"I have a most important matter..."

"I can't allow your goat to go on breaking down my fence... I'll

shoot him if he gets in there again."

"That is if you are alive to-morrow," said the curate, breathless,

and directing himself toward the sala.

"What! do you think that that seven-months-old puppy will kill me? I'll

kick him to pieces."

Father Salvi stepped back and looked instinctively at the feet of

the alferez.

"Whom are you talking about?" asked he, trembling.

"Of whom could I be talking but that big blockhead who proposes to

challenge me to a duel with revolvers at one hundred paces?"

"Ah!" sighed the curate, and added: "I have come to speak about a

most urgent matter which seriously concerns the life of all of us."

"Seriously!" repeated the alferez, turning pale in turn. "Does this

young fellow shoot well...?"

"I am not speaking about him."

"Then?"

The friar pointed to the door which the alferez shut in his customary

manner, by a kick. The alferez usually found his hands superfluous. An

imprecation and a groan from without were heard.

"You brute. You have cut open my head!" cried his wife.

"Now unbosom yourself," said he to the curate in a quiet manner. The

latter looked at him for some time. Afterward he asked, in that nasal

and monotonous priest's voice:

"Did you see how I came running?"

"Umph! I thought something was the matter with you."

"When I leave my duties in this manner there are grave motives."

"And what is it?" asked the other, stamping his foot on the floor.

"Calm yourself!"

"Then, why did you come in such a hurry?"

The curate approached him and asked in a mysterious way:

"Don't-you-know-anything-new?"

The alferez shrugged his shoulders.

"You confess that you know absolutely nothing?"

"What! do you mean to tell me about Elias, whom your sacristan mayor

hid last night?" he asked.

"No, no! I don't speak of such matters now," replied the curate,

in a bad humor. "I am talking about a great danger."

"Then d-n it! Let it out."

"Now then," said the friar slowly and with a certain disdain, "you

will see again how important we priests are. The lowest layman is

worth a regiment, so that a curate..."

And then lowering his voice in a very mysterious manner:

"I have discovered a great conspiracy."

The alferez started and looked at the friar astonished.

"A terrible and well-laid conspiracy, which is to break out this

very night."

"This very night!" exclaimed the alferez, moving at first toward

Father Salvi, and then running after his revolver and saber,

which were hanging on the wall: "Whom shall I arrest? Whom shall I

arrest?" he cried.

"Be calm. It is not yet time, thanks to my great haste. At eight

o'clock."

"I'll shoot them all!"

"Listen! This afternoon a woman, whose name I must not mention (it

is a secret of the confessional) came to me and disclosed it all. At

eight o'clock they will take the cuartel by surprise, sack the convent,

seize the Government's steamboat and assassinate all the Spaniards."

The alferez was stupified.

"The woman has not told more than that," added the curate.

"Has not told you more? Then I'll arrest her!"

"No; I cannot consent to it. The tribunal of penitence is the throne

of God of forgiveness."

"Neither God nor forgiveness count in this matter. I'll arrest her."

"You are losing your head. What you ought to do is to prepare

yourself. Arm your soldiers quietly and put them in ambush. Send me

four Guards for the convent and notify the people on the Government

steamboat."

"The boat is not here. I'll send to other sections for aid."

"They would notice that and would not go on with their plans. No,

don't do that. What is important is that we catch them alive and make

them talk; I say, you will make them disclose the conspiracy. I, in the

capacity of a priest, ought not to mix myself in these matters. Now's

your chance! Here you can win crosses and stars. I ask only that you

make it evident that I am the one who warned you."

"It will be made evident, Father, it will be made evident! And perhaps

a mitre will fall to you!" replied the radiant alferez.

"Be sure and send me four un-uniformed Civil Guards, eh? Be

discreet! To-night at eight o'clock, it will rain stars and crosses."

While this was going on, a man came running down the road which led

to Ibarra's house, and quickly went up the stairs.

"Is the Senor at home?" asked Elias of the servant.

"He is in his laboratory at work."

Ibarra, in order to pass the time while he impatiently waited for the

hour when he could make explanations to Maria Clara, had gone to work

in his cabinet.

"Ah, is it you, Elias?" he exclaimed. "I was thinking about

you. Yesterday, I forgot to ask you for the name of that Spaniard in

whose house your grandfather lived."

"Don't bother yourself, Senor, about me..."

"Look!" continued Ibarra, without noting the agitation of the young

man, and putting a piece of bamboo to a flame. "I have made a great

discovery. This bamboo is incombustible..."

"Don't talk about bamboo now, Senor. Talk about collecting your papers

and fleeing in a minute."

Ibarra looked at him surprised, and, on seeing the seriousness in

Elias's countenance, he dropped the object which he had in his hands.

"Burn everything that can possibly implicate you in any way and put

yourself in a more secure place within an hour."

"And what for?" he asked at last.

"Put all that you have of value in a secure place..."

"And what for?"

"Burn all papers written by you or to you. The most innocent can be

interpreted in a bad sense."

"But what for?"

"What for? Because I have just discovered a conspiracy which will be

attributed to you in order to ruin you."

"A conspiracy? And who has planned it?"

"I have been unable to learn the author of it. Only a moment ago I

was talking with one of the unfortunate men who have been paid for

it. I could not dissuade him."

"And didn't that fellow say who paid him?"

"Yes. Asking me to keep the secret, he told me that it was you."

"My God!" exclaimed Ibarra. He stood stupefied.

"Senor, don't hesitate, don't doubt, don't lose time, for undoubtedly

the conspiracy will break out this very night."

Ibarra, with staring eyes, and hands holding his head, seemed not to

hear him.

"The blow cannot be thwarted," continued Elias. "I have arrived too

late. I do not know their leaders ... save yourself, Senor, save

yourself for the sake of your country."

"Where shall I flee? They are expecting me this evening," exclaimed

Ibarra, thinking of Maria Clara.

"To any other town, to Manila, to the house of some official; only

flee somewhere so that they will not say that you are directing

the movement."

"And if I myself denounce the conspiracy?"

"You denounce it?" exclaimed Elias, looking at him, and stepping

back. "You would pass for a traitor and a coward in the eyes of

the conspirators, and for a pusillanimous person in the eyes of

others. They would say that you had played a trick to win some praise,

they would say..."

"But what can be done?"

"Already I have told you. Destroy all the papers you have which relate

to you; flee and await developments."

"And Maria Clara?" exclaimed the young man. "No; death first!"

Elias wrung his hands and said:

"Well, then, at least avoid the blow. Prepare yourself against their

accusations."

Ibarra looked around him in a stupefied manner.

"Then, help me! There in those bags I have my family letters. Sort

out those from my father, which are, perhaps, the ones that would

incriminate me. Read the signatures."

Ibarra, stunned and overwhelmed, opened and closed drawers, collected

papers, hastily read letters, tore up some, kept others, took down

books and thumbed through some of them. Elias did the same, if indeed

with less confusion, with equal zeal. But he stopped, with eyes wide

open, turned over a paper which he had in his hand and asked in a

trembling voice:

"Did your family know Don Pedro Eibarramendia?"

"Certainly!" replied Ibarra, opening a drawer and taking out a pile

of papers. "He was my great-grandfather."

"Your great grandfather? Don Pedro Eibarramendia?" he again asked,

with livid features and a changed appearance.

"Yes," replied Ibarra, distracted. "We cut short the name, for it

was too long."

"He was a Basque?" said Elias approaching him.

"Yes; but what's the matter?" he asked, surprised.

Elias closed his fist, shook it in Ibarra's face and looked at

him. Crisostomo stepped back as soon as he read the expression on

that face.

"Do you know who Don Pedro Eibarramendia was?" he asked between

his teeth. "Don Pedro Eibarramendia was that wretch who accused my

grandfather and caused all our misery... I was looking for one of

his name. God has given you into my hands... Account to me for our

misfortunes."

Ibarra looked at him terrified. Elias shook him by the arm and,

in a bitter voice, filled with hate, said:

"Look at me well; see if I have suffered, and you, you live, you love,

you have fortune, home, consideration. You live ... you live!"

And, beside himself, he ran toward a small collection of arms, but

he had scarcely grasped two swords when he let them fall, and, like

a madman, looked at Ibarra, who remained immovable.

"What am I to do?" he said and fled from the house.


	36. 35

CHAPTER XXXV

THE CATASTROPHE.

There in the dining-room Captain Tiago, Linares, and Aunt Isabel were

eating supper. In the sala the rattling of plate and tableware was

heard. Maria Clara had said that she did not care to eat and had seated

herself at the piano. By her side was jolly Sinang, who murmured little

secrets in Maria's ear, while Father Salvi uneasily paced the sala.

It was not because the convalescent had no appetite that she was

not eating. It was because she was awaiting the arrival of a certain

person and had taken advantage of the moment in which her Argus could

not be present, the hour when Linares ate.

"You will see how that ghost will stay till eight o'clock," murmured

Sinang, pointing to the curate. "At eight o'clock he ought to

come. This priest is as much in love as Linares."

Maria Clara looked at her friend, frightened. The latter, without

noticing her expression, continued her terrible gossip:

"Ah! Now I know why he doesn't go, in spite of all my hints. He

doesn't want to burn the lamps in the convent. Don't you see? Ever

since you fell ill, he has had the two lights which he used to burn,

put out. But look at his eyes and his face!"

Just at that moment the clock in the house struck eight. The curate

trembled and went and sat down in a corner of the room.

"He is coming," said Sinang, pinching Maria Clara. "Do you hear?"

The bell in the church tolled eight and all arose to pray. Father

Salvi, with a weak and trembling voice, led, but, as each one had

his own thoughts, nobody paid any attention to him.

The prayer had scarcely ended, when Ibarra presented himself. The young

man was wearing mourning, not only in his dress, but in his face. In

fact, it was so evident that Maria Clara, on seeing him, arose and

took a step toward him as if to ask what ailed him, but at the same

instant a discharge of musketry was heard. Ibarra stopped, his eyes

rolled and he was unable to speak. The curate hid himself behind a

pillar. More shooting and more noise was heard in the direction of the

convent, followed by cries and the sound of people running. Captain

Tiago, Aunt Isabel and Linares entered the room, hurriedly crying

"tulisan! tulisan!" Andeng followed them, brandishing a spit and ran

toward her foster sister.

Aunt Isabel fell on her knees and prayed the Kyrie eleison. Captain

Tiago, pale and trembling, carried a chicken's liver on his fork, and,

in tears, offered it to the Virgin of Antipolo. Linares had his mouth

full and was armed with a spoon. Sinang and Maria Clara embraced each

other. The only person who did not move was Ibarra. He stood as if

petrified, his face indescribably pale.

The cries and blows continued, the windows were shut with a bang,

a whistle was heard, and occasionally a shot.

"Christe eleison! Santiago, fasten the windows," groaned Aunt Isabel.

"Fifty great bombs and a thanksgiving mass," replied Captain

Tiago. "Ora pro nobis!"

After a time, things quieted down and there was a terrible silence. The

voice of the alferez was distinguished, as he came running in, and

crying: "Father curate! Father Salvi! Come!"

"Misere! The alferez is asking for confession!" cried Aunt Isabel.

"Is he wounded?" asked Linares at last. "Ah!"

"Come, Father Salvi! There is nothing to fear now," continued the

alferez, shouting.

Father Salvi, pale, and decided at last, came out of his hiding-place

and went downstairs.

"The tulisanes have killed the alferez!" said Aunt Isabel.

"Maria Clara, Sinang, go to your room! Fasten the door! Kyrie eleison!"

Ibarra also went toward the stairs, in spite of Aunt Isabel, who was

saying: "Don't go out! You haven't confessed yet. Don't go out!"

The good old woman had been a great friend of Ibarra's mother.

But Ibarra left the house. It seemed to him that all about him was

revolving through the air, that even the ground was gone from under his

feet. His ears buzzed. His legs moved heavily and irregularly. Waves

of blood, light and darkness, succeeded one another on the retina of

his eye.

Despite the fact that the moon was shining brightly in the heavens, the

young man stumbled on every stone in the solitary and deserted street.

Near the cuartel he saw some soldiers with their bayonets fixed,

talking excitedly. He passed by unseen.

In the tribunal, blows, cries, wails, and curses were heard. The

alferez's voice drowned all the others.

"Put him in the stocks! Put handcuffs on that fellow! Two shots for

whoever moves! Sergeant, you will mount your guard! Let no one pass,

not even God! Corporal, let no one sleep!"

Ibarra hastened his steps toward his house. His servants were uneasily

awaiting him.

"Saddle the best horse and go to bed!" said he to them.

He entered his laboratory and hurriedly began to get his travelling

bag ready. He opened an iron box, took out all the money which he

found there and put it in a bag. He gathered his jewels together,

took down a picture of Maria Clara which was hanging upon the wall,

and, arming himself with a dirk and two revolvers, he turned to the

cupboard where he had some tools.

At that instant, three blows, loud and strong, sounded on the door.

"Who's there?" asked Ibarra, in a doleful voice.

"Open in the name of the King! Open the door at once, or we will

knock it down!" replied an imperious Spanish voice.

Ibarra looked toward the window. His eyes flashed and he cocked his

revolver. But changing his mind, he left the arms and went to open

the door at the same moment that the servants came up.

Three Guards seized him instantly.

"You are made a prisoner in the name of the King!" said the sergeant.

"What for?"

"They will tell you later. We are prohibited from saying a word."

The young man reflected a moment and not wishing, perhaps, the soldiers

to discover his preparations for flight, he took his hat and said:

"I am at your disposal. I suppose it will be only for a short time."

"If you promise not to escape, we will not handcuff you. The alferez

grants this favor, but if you flee-"

Ibarra followed, leaving the servants in consternation.

In the meantime, what had become of Elias?

On leaving Crisostomo's house, like a madman, he ran about without

knowing where. He crossed fields, and in violent agitation arrived at a

forest. He was fleeing from people, and from light. The moon troubled

him and he entered the mysterious shade of the forest. Sometimes

stopping, sometimes following unbroken paths, leaning upon century-old

trunks, entangled in the briars, he looked toward the town, which

lay at his feet bathed in the light of the moon, stretching itself

out on the plain, lying on the shore of the lake. Birds, disturbed

in their sleep, flew away. Owls screeched and flew from one limb to

another. But Elias neither heard nor saw them. He thought he was being

followed by the infuriated shades of his ancestors. He saw the horrible

basket hanging from every branch with the blood-covered head of Balat,

just as his father had described it to him. He thought he saw the dead

body of his grandmother lying at the foot of every tree. He seemed

to see the skeleton of his dishonored grandfather in the darkness,

and the skeleton, the old woman, and the head all cried out to him,

"Coward! Coward!"

He left the mountain and fled down toward the sea. He ran along the

beach in agitation. But there in the distance, amid the waves, where

the light of the moon seemed to raise a fog, he thought he saw a shade

raise itself, the shade of his sister, with her breast covered with

blood, her hair hanging loose in the air.

Elias fell upon his knees on the sand.

"And you, too!" he cried stretching out his arms.

Then, with his eyes fixed on the fog, he arose slowly and, advancing

toward it, went into the water as if to follow somebody. He waded on

over the gentle slope of the beach which forms the bar. He was already

far from the shore and the water was up to his belt. He went on and

on, as if fascinated by a seducing spirit. The water was now up to his

breast. Suddenly, the discharge of musketry awoke him from his dream,

the vision disappeared, and the young man returned to reality. He

stopped, reflected, and noticed that he was in the water. The lake

was smooth and he could still see the lights in the fishermen's huts.

He returned to the shore and made his way toward the town. What

for? He himself did not know.

The town seemed uninhabited. The houses were all closed. Even the

animals, the dogs which are accustomed to bark at night, had hid

themselves through fear. The silvery light of the moon increased the

sadness and solitude.

Afraid of meeting the Civil Guards, he went through the orchards and

gardens. In one of the gardens he thought he saw two human forms,

but he continued his way. Jumping over fences and walls, he arrived

after great labor at the other side of the town, and directed his

steps toward Ibarra's house. The servants were in the door, lamenting

and commenting on the arrest of their master.

Aware of what had passed, Elias went away, but returned to the house,

leaped over the wall, crawled through a window and went into the

cabinet or laboratory, where the candle which Ibarra had left was

still burning.

Elias saw the papers and the books. He found the arms and the little

sacks which contained the money and the jewelry. All that had passed

ran through his imagination again, and, seeing all the papers which

might incriminate Ibarra, he thought of collecting them, throwing

them through the window and burying them.

He glanced toward the garden and, by the light of the moon, he saw

two Civil Guards coming with an adjutant. Their bayonets and helmets

were glistening in the light.

Then he decided. He piled up the clothes and papers in the middle

of the cabinet, emptied the oil in a lamp upon the pile and set fire

to it. He quickly buckled the arms around him. He saw the picture of

Maria Clara, hesitated-put it in one of the little sacks, and jumped

out of the window with them all.

It was already time, for the two Civil Guards were forcing their

entrance.

"Let us go up to get your master's papers," said the adjutant.

"Have you permission? If not, you shall not go up!" said an old

servant.

But the soldiers pushed the servants aside with the butts of their

guns and went upstairs. A thick smoke was already filling the whole

house, and gigantic tongues of flame were coming out from the sala,

licking the doors and windows.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" they all cried.

Each hurried to save what he could, but the fire had filled the small

laboratory, breaking out furiously among the inflammable materials. The

Civil Guards had to turn back. The fire, roaring and sweeping all

before it, closed the passage to them. In vain they brought water

from the well. All were shouting, and crying for help, but they were

isolated. The fire reached the other rooms and in thick columns of

smoke ascended to the heavens. Some peasants came from a distance,

but they arrived only in time to see the frightful spectacle, the

end of that old building, so long respected by the elements.


	37. 36

CHAPTER XXXVI

WHAT PEOPLE SAY AND THINK.

Day dawned at last for the terrorized people. The streets in which

the cuartel and the tribunal were situated were still deserted and

solitary. The houses showed no signs of life. However, a shutter was

opened with a creaking noise and an infant head stuck out and looked

in all directions... Slap!... A sound announces hard contact between

a strip of leather and a human body. The child made a grimace, closed

its eyes and disappeared. The shutter was closed again.

The example had been set. Without any doubt the opening and closing of

the shutter has been heard, for another window was opened very slowly

and cautiously and a wrinkled and toothless old woman thrust out her

head. She was called Sister Rute. She looked about, knit her brows,

spit noisily and then crossed herself. In the house opposite, a little

window was timidly opened and her friend, Sister Rufa appeared. They

looked at each other for a moment, smiled, made some signals, and

again crossed themselves.

"Jesus! It was like a thanksgiving mass," said Sister Rufa.

"Since the time that Balat sacked the town I have never seen a night

like it," replied Sister Pute.

"What a lot of shots! They say that it was old Pablo's gang."

"Tulisanes? It couldn't be. They say that it was the cuaderilleros

against the Civil Guards. For this reason, they have arrested Don

Filipo."

"Sanctus Deus! They say that there are no less than fourteen killed."

Other windows were opened and different faces appeared, exchanging

salutations and commenting on the affair.

In the light of the day-which promised to be a splendid one-could

be seen in the distance, like ash-colored shadows, soldiers hurrying

about in confusion.

"There goes another corpse!" said some one from one of the windows.

"One? I see two."

"And so do I. But do you know what it was?" asked a man with a

crafty face.

"Certainly. The cuaderilleros."

"No, Senor. An uprising at the cuartel."

"What uprising? The curate against the alferez?"

"No, nothing of the sort," said he who had asked the question. "The

Chinese have risen in revolt."

And he closed his window again.

"The Chinese!" repeated all, with the greatest astonishment.

In a quarter of an hour other versions of the affair were in

circulation. Ibarra, with his servants, it was said, had tried to

steal Maria Clara, and Captain Tiago, aided by the Guardia Civil had

defended her.

By this time the number of the dead was no longer fourteen, but

thirty. Captain Tiago, it was said, was wounded and was going right

off to Manila with his family.

The arrival of two cuaderilleros, carrying a human form in a

wheelbarrow, and followed by a Civil Guard, produced a great

sensation. It was supposed that they came from the convent. From the

form of the feet which were hanging down, they tried to guess who it

could be. By half-past seven, when other Civil Guards arrived from

neighboring towns, the current version of the affair was already

clear and detailed.

"I have just come from the tribunal, where I have seen Don Filipo

and Don Crisostomo prisoners," said a man to Sister Pute. "I talked

with one of the cuaderilleros on guard. Well, Bruno, the son of the

man who was whipped to death, made a declaration last night. As you

know, Captain Tiago is going to marry his daughter to a Spaniard. Don

Crisostomo, offended, wanted to take revenge and tried to kill all

the Spaniards, even the curate. Last night they attacked the convent

and the cuartel. Happily, by mercy of God, the curate was in Captain

Tiago's house. They say that many escaped. The Civil Guards burned

Don Crisostomo's house, and if they had not taken him prisoner,

they would have burned him, too."

"They burned the house?"

"All the servants were arrested. Why, you can still see the smoke

from here!" said the narrator, approaching the window. "Those who

come from there relate very sad things."

All looked toward the place indicated. A light column of smoke was

still ascending to the heavens. All made comments more or less pious,

more or less accusatory.

"Poor young man!" exclaimed an old man, the husband of Pute.

"Yes!" replied his wife. "But he did not order a mass for the soul

of his father, who undoubtedly needs it more than others."

"But wife, you don't have any pity..."

"Sympathy for the excommunicated? It is a sin to have pity for the

enemies of God, say the curates. Don't you remember? He ran over the

sacred burial ground as if he were in a cattle pen."

"But a cattle pen and a cemetery are much alike," responded the old

man, "except that but one class of animals enter the cemetery."

"What!" cried Sister Pute. "Are you still going to defend him whom

God so clearly punishes? You will see that they will arrest you,

too. You may support a falling house, if you want to!"

The husband became silent in view of this argument.

"Yes," continued the old woman, "after striking Father Damaso, there

was nothing left for him to do but to kill Father Salvi."

"But you can't deny that he was a good boy when he was a child."

"Yes, he was a good child," replied the old woman, "but he went to

Spain. All those who go to Spain return heretics, so the curates say."

"Oh!" exclaimed the husband, seeing his revenge. "And the curate,

and all the curates, and the Archbishops, and the Pope, and the

Virgin-are they not Spaniards? Bah! Are they heretics, too? Bah!"

Happily for Sister Pute, the arrival of a servant, who rushed in

confused and pale, cut off the discussion.

"A man hanged in a neighboring orchard!" she exclaimed breathless.

"A man hanged!" exclaimed all, full of amazement.

The women crossed themselves. No one could stir.

"Yes, Senor," continued the servant, trembling. "I was going to

gather some peas in... I looked into the orchard next door ... to

see if there ... I saw a man swinging... I thought it was Teo ... I

went nearer to gather peas, and I saw that it was not he but it was

another, and was dead ... I ran, ran and..."

"Let us go and see it," said the old man, rising. "Take us there."

"Don't go!" cried Sister Pute, seizing him by the shirt.

"You'll get into trouble! He has hanged himself? Then all the worse

for him!"

"Let me see it, wife! Go to the tribunal, Juan, and report it. Perhaps

he is not dead yet."

And he went ino[typo, should be into?] the orchard, followed by the

servant, who kept hid behind him. The women and Sister Pute herself

came along behind, full of terror and curiosity.

"There it is, Senor," said the servant stopping him and pointing with

her finger.

The group stopped at a respectful distance, allowing the old man to

advance alone.

The body of a man, hanging from the limb of a santol tree, was swinging

slowly in the breeze. The old man contemplated it for some time. He

looked at the rigid feet, the arms, the stained clothing and the

drooping head.

"We ought not to touch the corpse until some official has arrived,"

said he, in a loud voice. "He is already stiff. He has been dead for

some time."

The women approached hesitatingly.

"It is the neighbor who lived in that little house; the one who

arrived only two weeks ago. Look at the scar on his face."

"Ave Maria!" exclaimed some of the women.

"Shall we pray for his soul?" asked a young girl as soon as she had

finished looking at the dead body from all directions.

"You fool! You heretic!" Sister Pute scolded her. "Don't you know what

Father Damaso said? To pray for a damned person is to tempt God. He who

commits suicide is irrevocably condemned. For this reason, he cannot

be buried in a sacred place. I had begun to think that this man was

going to have a bad ending. I never could guess what he lived on."

"I saw him twice speaking with the sacristan mayor," observed a girl.

"It couldn't have been to confess himself or to order a mass!"

The neighbors gathered together and a large circle surrounded the

corpse which was still swinging. In half an hour some officers and

two cuaderilleros arrived. They took the body down and put it in

a wheelbarrow.

"Some people are in a hurry to die," said one of the officers,

laughing, while he took out the pen from behind his ear.

He asked some trifling questions; took the declaration of the servant,

whom he tried to implicate, now looking at her with evil in his eyes,

now threatening her and now attributing to her words which she did

not say-so much so that the servant, believing that she was going

to be taken to jail, began to weep and finished by declaring that

she was looking for peas, but that ... and she called Teo to witness.

In the meantime, a peasant with a wide hat and a large plaster on

his neck, was examining the body, and the rope by which it was hanging.

The face was no more livid than the rest of the body. Above the

rope could be seen two scars and two small bruises. Where the rope

had rubbed, there was no blood and the skin was white. The curious

peasant examined closely the camisa and the pantaloons. He noted that

they were full of dust and recently torn in some places. But what most

attracted his attention were the "stick-tights" [22] on his clothing,

even up to his neck.

"What do you see?" asked the officer.

"I was trying to identify him, senor," stammered the peasant, lowering

his hat further from his uncovered head.

"But haven't you heard that it was one Lucas? Were you sleeping?"

All began to laugh. The peasant, embarrassed, muttered a few words,

and went away with head down, walking slowly.

"Here! Where are you going?" cried the old man. "You can't get out

that way. That's the way to the dead man's house."

"That fellow is still asleep," said the officer with a jeer. "We'll

have to throw some water on him!"

Those standing around laughed again.

The peasant left the place where he had played so poor a part and

directed his steps toward the church. In the sacristy, he asked for

the sacristan mayor.

"He is still sleeping!" they replied gruffly. "Don't you know that

they sacked the convent last night?"

"I will wait till he awakes."

The sacristans looked at him with that rudeness characteristic of

people who are in the habit of being ill-treated.

In a dark corner, the one-eyed sacristan mayor was sleeping in a

large chair. His spectacles were across his forehead among his long

locks of hair. His squalid, bony breast was bare, and rose and fell

with regularity.

The peasant sat down near by, disposed to wait patiently, but a

coin fell on the floor and he began looking for it with the aid of a

candle, under the sacristan mayor's big chair. The peasant also noted

"stick-tights" on the sleeping man's pantaloons and on the arms of

his camisa. The sacristan awoke at last, rubbed his good eye, and,

in a very bad humor, reproached the man.

"I would like to order a mass said, senor," replied he in a tone

of excuse.

"They have already finished all the masses," said the one-eyed man,

softening his accent a little. "If you want it for to-morrow... Is

it for souls in Purgatory?"

"No, senor;" replied the peasant, giving him a peso.

And looking fixedly in his one eye, he added:

"It is for a person who is going to die soon." And he left the

sacristy. "I could have seized him last night," he added, sighingly

as he removed the plaster from his neck. And he straightened up and

regained the stature and appearance of Elias.


	38. 37

CHAPTER XXXVII

VAE VICTIS!

Civil Guards were passing with a sinister air to and fro in front of

the door of the tribunal, threatening with the butts of their guns

the daring boys who stood on tip-toe or raised each other up in order

to look through the grates in the windows.

The sala did not present that same joyful aspect as it did when the

program for the festival was being discussed. It was gloomy and the

silence was almost death-like. The Civil Guards and the cuaderilleros

who were occupying the room scarcely spoke and the few words that

they did pronounce were in a low tone. Around the table sat the

directorcillo, two writers and some soldiers scribbling papers. The

alferez walked from one side to the other, looking from time to time

ferociously toward the door. Themistocles after the battle of Salamis

could not have shown more pride at the Olympic games. Dona Consolacion

yawned in one corner of the room, and disclosed her black palate and

her crooked teeth. Her cold and evil look was fixed on the door of

the jail, covered with indecent pictures. Her husband, made amiable

by the victory, had yielded to her request to be allowed to witness

the interrogation and, perhaps, the tortures which were to follow. The

hyena smelled the dead body, she licked her chops and was wearied at

the delay in the punishment.

The gobernadorcillo's chair, that large chair under the portrait of

His Majesty, was empty and seemed destined for some other person.

At nearly nine o'clock, the curate, pale and with eyebrows knit,

arrived.

"Well, you haven't made any one wait!" said the alferez sarcastically

to the friar.

"I would have preferred not to be present," replied Father Salvi,

in a low voice, without taking notice of the bitter tone... "I am

very nervous."

"As no one came, I decided that, in order not to leave the chair

empty, your presence... You already know that the prisoners are to

leave town this afternoon."

"Young Ibarra and the teniente mayor?"

The alferez pointed toward the jail.

"Eight are in there," said he. "Bruno died last night at midnight,

but his declaration has been obtained."

The curate saluted Dona Consolacion, who responded with a yawn and an

"aah!" The friar took the big chair under the picture of His Majesty.

"We can begin," said he.

"Bring out the two who are in the stocks!" ordered the alferez in his

most terrifying voice. And turning to the curate, he added, changing

his tone:

"They are fastened in the stocks with two holes vacant!"

For those who are interested in instruments of torture, we will say

that the stocks is one of the most innocent. The holes in which are

fastened the legs of the prisoner are a little more or less than

a palm apart. Leaving two holes vacant, and putting the prisoner's

legs in the holes on either side, would make the position strained,

so that the ankles would suffer peculiarly and the lower extremities

be stretched apart more than a yard. It does not kill instantly,

as may well be imagined.

The turnkey, followed by four soldiers, drew back the bolt and opened

the door. A nauseating odor, and the thick, damp air escaped from the

dense darkness of the prison and, at the same time, groans and sighs

were heard. A soldier lighted a match, but the flame was extinguished

in that foul, vitiated atmosphere, and they had to wait till the air

was renewed.

In the vague light of a candle, several human forms could be

discerned. They were men, some of whom locked their arms around their

knees and hid their heads between them, others were lying down, with

their mouths to the ground, some standing, and some leaning against

the wall. A blow and a creaking sound was heard, accompanied by oaths;

the stocks were being opened.

Dona Consolacion's body was bent forward, the muscles of her neck

were rigid, her eyes riveted to the half open door.

Between the soldiers came out Tarsilo, the brother of Bruno. He wore

handcuffs. His torn clothes disclosed well-developed muscles. His

eyes were fixed insolently on the alferez's wife.

"This is the one who defended himself most bravely, and who ordered

his companions to flee," said the alferez to Father Salvi.

Behind came another miserable sight, a man crying and weeping like

a child. He was limping and his pantaloons were stained with blood.

"Mercy, senor, have mercy! I will not enter the cuartel yard again,"

he cried.

"He is a crafty fellow," said the alferez, speaking to the curate. "He

wanted to flee, but had received a flesh wound."

"What is your name?" asked the alferez, speaking to Tarsilo.

"Tarsilo Alasigan."

"What did Don Crisostomo promise you for attacking the cuartel?"

"Don Crisostomo has never communicated with us."

"Don't deny it! You wanted to surprise us for him!"

"You are mistaken. You whipped our father to death. We avenged him

and nothing more. Look for your two soldiers!"

The alferez looked at the sergeant, surprised.

"They are at the bottom of that precipice. We threw them there

yesterday. There they will rot. Now kill me! You will know nothing

more."

Silence and general surprise.

"You are not going to tell who were your accomplices?" said the

alferez in a threatening manner and brandishing a whip.

A scornful smile curled the lips of the culprit.

The alferez conferred for some minutes with the curate in a low

voice. Then turning to the soldiers, he ordered:

"Take him to where the dead bodies are!"

In a corner of the yard, upon an old wagon, were five bodies close

together and half covered by a filthy piece of torn matting. A soldier

on guard was pacing up and down, and constantly spitting.

"Do you recognize them?" asked the alferez, lifting the matting.

Tarsilo did not respond. He saw the dead body of Pedro, with two

others; one, his own brother, riddled with bayonet wounds, and the

other, Lucas, with the rope still around his neck. His look became

gloomy and a sigh seemed to escape from his breast.

"Do you know them?" they asked him.

Tarsilo remained silent.

There was a whistling sound and the whip came down across his back. He

trembled, and his muscles contracted. The lashes were repeated,

but Tarsilo continued impassive.

"Let them whip him till they cut him to pieces or till he makes a

declaration," cried the alferez, exasperated.

"Speak then!" said the directorcillo to him. "They will surely

kill you."

They led him back to the sala of the tribunal, where the other prisoner

was invoking God, grating his teeth and shaking on his legs.

"Do you know this man?" asked Father Salvi.

"This is the first time I have ever seen him," replied Tarsilo,

looking with a certain pity on the other.

The alferez gave him a cuff with his fist and kicked him.

"Tie him to the bench!"

Without taking off the bloody handcuffs, he was fastened to the wooden

bench. The unhappy fellow looked about him as if in search of some one,

and his eyes fell on Dona Consolacion. He smiled sardonically. Those

present were surprised and followed his glance and saw the senora. She

was biting her lips.

"I have never seen an uglier woman," exclaimed Tarsilo amid the

general silence. "I prefer to lie down on this bench as I am doing

than to lie by her side, like the alferez."

The Muse turned pale.

"You are going to whip me to death, alferez," he continued, "but

to-night I will be avenged by your woman."

"Gag him!" shouted the alferez, furious and trembling with rage.

It seemed as though Tarsilo had wanted the gag, for when he had it

in his mouth, his eyes gleamed with a ray of satisfaction.

At a signal from the alferez a guard, armed with a whip, began his

cruel task. The whole body of Tarsilo shrank. A groan, suppressed and

prolonged, could be heard in spite of the rag which stopped up his

mouth. He lowered his head. His clothes were being stained with blood.

Father Salvi, pale and with a wild look, rose to his feet laboriously,

made a sign with his hand and left the sala with vacillating steps. In

the street, he saw a girl, leaning her back against the wall, rigid,

immovable, listening attentively, looking into space, her marble-like

hands extended along the old wall. The sun was shining full upon

her. She was counting, it seemed without breathing, the sharp blows

and listening to that heart-rending groan. She was Tarsilo's sister.

In the meantime, the scene was continuing in the sala. The unfortunate

fellow, overcome with pain, had become silent and waited for his

punishers to tire. At last, the soldier breathless, let fall his

arm. The alferez, pale with wrath and astonishment, made a signal

for them to unloose him.

Dona Consolacion then arose and whispered something into her husband's

ear. He nodded his head, signifying that he understood.

"To the well with him!" said he.

The Filipinos know what that means. In Tagalog they call it

timbain. We do not know who could have been the inventor of this

method of punishment, but we are of the opinion that he must have lived

long ago. In the middle of the tribunal yard there was a picturesque

stone-wall, roughly made out of cobble stones, around a well. A rustic

apparatus of bamboo in the form of a lever serves to draw out the vile,

dirty and bad smelling water. Broken dishes, refuse and all sorts of

filth collected there, since the well was a common receptacle for

everything that the people threw away or found useless. An object

which fell into the place, no matter how good it may have been, was

thereafter surely lost. However, the well was never closed up. At

times, prisoners were condemned to go down and make it deeper, not

because it was thought that the work would be useful in any way,

but because the work was so difficult. If a prisoner went down in

the well once, he invariably contracted a fever, from which he died.

Tarsilo contemplated all the preparations of the soldiers with a firm

look. He was very pale and his lips were trembling or murmuring a

prayer. The haughtiness of his desperation seemed to have disappeared,

or at least to have weakened. A number of times he bent his head,

fixed his eyes on the ground, resigned to his suffering.

They took him to one side of the stone wall. Dona Consolacion followed

smiling. The unfortunate wretch glanced enviously toward the pile of

dead bodies, and a sigh escaped from his breast.

"Speak now!" said the directorcillo again. "They will certainly drown

you. At least, die without having suffered so much."

"When you come out of this, you will die," said a cuaderillero.

They took the gag out of his mouth and hung him by his feet. He had

to go down head first and remain under the water some time just like

a bucket, except that a man is left under the water a longer time.

The alferez went to look for a watch that he might count the minutes.

In the meantime, Tarsilo was hanging, his long hair waving in the

air and his eyes half closed.

"If you are Christians, if you have hearts," he begged, in a low voice,

"let me down rapidly and make my head strike against the wall that I

may die. God would reward such a good deed... Perhaps some day you

will be in the same straits as I am now."

The alferez returned and with watch in hand witnessed the descent.

"Slowly, slowly!" cried Dona Consolacion following the poor fellow

with her eyes. "Be careful!"

The pole was being lowered slowly. Tarsilo rubbed against

the projecting stones and the dirty plants which grew in the

crevices. Then, the pole ceased to move. The alferez was counting

the seconds.

"Up!" he ordered dryly, at the end of a half minute.

The silvery harmony of the drops of water falling back into the well,

announced the return of the unfortunate man to the light. As the

weight on the end of the lever was heavy, he came up quickly. The

rough pieces of stone and pebbles, torn loose from the walls, fell

with splashes to the bottom.

His face and hair full of filthy mud, his body wet and dripping,

he appeared again in the sight of the silent crowd. The wind made

him shiver with cold.

"Do you want to make a declaration?" they asked him.

"Take care of my sister!" the unhappy one murmured, looking at the

cuaderillero, with supplication.

The bamboo pole creaked again, and again the condemned man

disappeared. Dona Consolacion observed that the water remained

still. The alferez counted a minute.

When Tarsilo came up again, his face was livid and his features

contracted. He glanced at those standing around and kept open his

bloodshot eyes.

"Will you make a declaration?" asked the alferez again, with vexation.

Tarsilo shook his head and again they let him down. His eyelids were

almost closed and his eyes were gazing at the white clouds floating

in the heavens. He bent his neck to keep sight of the light of day,

but he was soon submerged in the water. That filthy curtain closed

from him the sight of the world.

A minute passed. The Muse saw large bubbles of air come up to the

surface of the water.

"He is thirsty," said she, laughing.

The water was again smooth.

This time a minute and a half had passed when the alferez gave

the signal.

Tarsilo's features were no longer contracted. The half opened lids

showed the white of his eyes. Muddy water, clotted with blood,

ran out of his mouth. The cool wind was blowing, but his body no

longer shivered.

Those present, pale and terrified, looked at each other in silence. The

alferez made a signal for them to take him down from where he was

hanging, and stepped aside for a few moments. Dona Consolacion a

number of times applied the lighted end of her cigar to the bare legs

of Tarsilo, but his body did not quiver. It put out the light.

"He has asphyxiated himself," murmured a cuaderillero. "See how his

tongue is turned, as if he wanted to swallow it."

The other prisoner, trembling and perspiring, contemplated the

scene. Like a madman he looked about him.

The alferez ordered the directorcillo to question him.

"Senor, Senor," he groaned. "I will tell you all that you wish."

"Good. Let us see! What is your name?"

"Andong, Senor!"

"Bernardo ... Leonardo ... Ricardo ... Educardo. Gerardo ... or what?"

"Andong, Senor," repeated the imbecile.

"Call it Bernardo or whatever you please," said the alferez, decided

not to bother more about it.

"What family name?"

The man looked at him frightened.

"What's your name? What do you add to the name Andong?"

"Ah, Senor! Andong Medio-tonto (half-fool), Senor."

Those standing around could not resist a laugh. The alferez himself

stopped short.

"What is your business?"

"Cocoanut tree pruner, Senor, and servant for my mother-in-law."

"Who ordered you to attack the cuartel?"

"Nobody, Senor."

"What's that; nobody? Don't you lie or we will put you in the well. Who

ordered you to do it? Speak the truth."

"That's the truth, Senor."

"Who?"

"Who?"

"I ask you who ordered you to revolt."

"What revolt, Senor?"

"That one last night, when you were in the tribunal yard."

"Ah, Senor!" exclaimed Andong, blushing.

"Who was to blame for that?"

"My mother-in-law, Senor."

A laugh of surprise followed this reply. The alferez stopped and

looked sharply at the simple peasant, who believed that his words had

produced a good effect. More animated, he was about to continue when

the crack of a whip cut him short.

"To the jail!" ordered the alferez. "This afternoon, send him to

the capital."


	39. 38

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE ACCURSED.

The news that the prisoners were going to depart spread quickly through

the town. At first, the news was heard with terror; afterward, came

tears and lamentations.

The members of the families of the prisoners were running about

madly. They would go from the convent to the cuartel from the cuartel

to the tribunal, and not finding consolation anywhere, they filled the

air with cries and moans. The curate had shut himself up because he was

ill. The alferez had increased his guards, who received the supplicants

with the butts of their guns. The gobernadorcillo, a useless being,

anyway, seemed more stupid and useless than ever.

The sun was burning hot, but none of the unhappy women who were

gathered in front of the cuartel thought of that. Doray, the gay

and happy wife of Don Filipo, wandered about, with her tender little

child in her arms. Both were crying.

"Get out of the sun," they said to her. "Your son will catch a fever."

"What is the use of his living if he has no father to educate

him?" replied the dispirited woman.

"Your husband is innocent. Perhaps he will return."

"Yes, when we are in our graves."

Capitana Tinay wept and cried for her son, Antonio. The courageous

Capitana Maria gazed toward the small grate, behind which were her

twins, her only sons.

There, too, was the mother-in-law of the cocoanut tree pruner. She

was not crying; she was walking to and fro, gesticulating, with shirt

sleeves rolled up, and haranguing the public.

"Have you ever seen anything equal to it?" said she. "They arrest my

Andong, wound him, put him in the stocks, and take him to the capital,

all because he happened to be in the cuartel yard."

But few people had any sympathy for the Mussulman mother-in-law.

"Don Crisostomo is to blame for all of this," sighed a woman.

The school teacher also was wandering about in the crowd. Nor Juan

was no longer rubbing his hands, nor was he carrying his yard stick

and plumb line. He had heard the bad news and, faithful to his custom

of seeing the future as a thing that had already happened, he was

dressed in mourning, mourning for the death of Ibarra.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, an uncovered cart, drawn by two oxen,

stopped in front of the tribunal.

The cart was surrounded by the crowd. They wanted to destroy it.

"Don't do that!" said Capitana Maria. "Do you want them to walk?"

This remark stopped the relatives of the prisoners. Twenty soldiers

came out and surrounded the cart. Then came the prisoners.

The first was Don Filipo; he was tied. He greeted his wife with a

smile. Doray broke into a bitter lamentation and two soldiers had to

work hard to keep her from embracing her husband. Antonio, the son of

Captain Tinay, next appeared, crying like a child-a fact which made

the family cry all the more. The imbecile, Andong, broke out in a wail

when he saw his mother-in-law, the cause of his misfortune. Albino,

the former seminary student, came out with his hands tied, as did

also the twin sons of Capitana Maria. These three youths were serious

and grave. The last who came was Ibarra. The young man was pale. He

looked about for the face of Maria Clara.

"That is the one who is to blame!" cried many voices. "He is to blame

and he will go free."

"My son-in-law has done nothing and he is handcuffed."

Ibarra turned to the guards.

"Tie me, and tie me well, elbow to elbow," said he.

"We have no orders."

"Tie me!"

The soldiers obeyed.

The alferez appeared on horse-back, armed to the teeth. Ten or fifteen

more soldiers followed him.

Each of the prisoners had there in the crowd his family praying

for him, weeping for him, and calling him by the most affectionate

names. Ibarra was the only exception. Even Nor Juan himself and the

school-teacher had disappeared.

"What have you done to my husband and my son?" said Doray to Ibarra,

crying. "See my poor boy! You have deprived him of a father!"

The grief of the people was changed to wrath against the young man,

accused of having provoked the riot. The alferez gave orders to depart.

"You are a coward!" cried the mother-in-law of Andong to Ibarra. "While

the others were fighting for you, you were hiding. Coward!"

"Curses upon you!" shouted an old man following him. "Cursed be the

gold hoarded up by your family to disturb our peace! Curse him! Curse

him!"

"May they hang you, heretic!" cried one of Albino's relatives. And

unable to restrain himself, he picked up a stone and threw it at

Ibarra.

The example was quickly imitated, and a shower of dust and stones

fell on the unfortunate youth.

Ibarra suffered it all, impassive, without wrath, without a

complaint-the unjust vengeance of suffering hearts. This was the

leave-taking, the "adios" tendered to him by his town, the center

of all his affections. He bowed his head. Perhaps he was thinking of

another man, whipped through the streets of Manila, of an old woman

falling dead at the sight of the head of her son. Perhaps the history

of Elias was passing before his eyes.

The cortege moved slowly on and away.

Of the persons who appeared in a few opened windows, those who

showed the most compassion for the unfortunate young man were the

indifferent and the curious. All his friends had hidden themselves;

yes, even Captain Basilio, who forbade his daughter Sinang to weep.

Ibarra saw the smouldering ruins of his house, of the house of his

fathers where he had been born, where he had lived the sweetest days

of his infancy and childhood. Tears, for a long time suppressed,

burst from his eyes. He bowed his head and wept, wept without the

consolation of being able to hide his weeping, tied as he was by the

elbows. Nor did that grief awaken compassion in anybody. Now he had

neither fatherland, home, love, friends or future.

From a height a man contemplated the funeral-like caravan. He was old,

pale, thin, wrapped in a woollen blanket and was leaning with fatigue

on a cane. It was old Tasio, who as soon as he heard of what had

happened wanted to leave his bed and attend, but his strength would

not permit it. The old man followed with his eyes the cart until it

disappeared in the distance. He stood for some time, pensive and his

head bowed down; then he arose, and laboriously started on the road

to his house, resting at every step.

The following day, shepherds found him dead on the very threshold of

his solitary retreat.


	40. 39

CHAPTER XXXIX

MARIA CLARA IS MARRIED.

Captain Tiago was very happy. During all this terrible time nobody

had busied himself with him. They had not arrested him, nor had they

submitted him to excommunications, court trials, electrical machines,

continual hot foot baths in subterranean places, or to any of the

other punishments which are well known to certain people who call

themselves civilized. He had returned to his Manila house. Those who

had been the Captain's friends-for he had renounced all his Filipino

friends from the moment that they were suspected by the Government-had

also returned to their homes after some days of vacation spent in

the Government buildings. The Governor General had himself ordered

these people to leave their possessions, for he had not thought it

fitting that they should remain in them during the great danger.

Captain Tiago was overflowing with gratitude, but he did not know

exactly to whom he was indebted for such signal favors. Aunt Isabel

attributed the miracle to the Virgin of Antipolo, to the Virgin of the

Rosary, or at least to the Virgin of Carmen. The least that she would

concede was that it was due to Our Lady of Corea. According to the

Aunt, the miracle was certainly due to one of these Virgins. Captain

Tiago did not deny that it was a miracle, but he added:

"I do not believe, Isabel, that the Virgin of Antipolo could have

done it alone. My friends have aided in it; my future son-in-law,

Senor Linares has, as you know, joked with Senor Antonio Canovas

himself, whose portrait we saw in 'Illustracion.'"

And the good man could not suppress a smile every time that he heard

any important news about the event. And there was good reason for

it. It was whispered about that Ibarra was going to be hanged; that,

even if many proofs had been lacking, at last one had appeared which

could confirm the accusation; and that skilled workmen had declared

that, as a matter of fact, the work for the school-house could pass

for a fort or a fortification. Even if defective in some parts, that

was as much as could be expected from ignorant Indians. These rumors

quieted the Captain and made him smile.

Just as the Captain and his cousin, Aunt Isabel, were of different

opinions about the miracle, so, too, the other friends of the family

were divided into different parties-those who followed the miracle

monger, and those who followed the Government. The latter party,

however, was quite insignificant. The miracle mongers were sub-divided

into other factions: the Sacristan Mayor of Binondo, the woman who

sold the wax candles, and the chief of one of the brotherhoods,

all saw the hand of God in the miracle, moved by the Virgin of the

Rosary. The Chinese candle maker, who provided the Captain whenever

he went on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, was saying as he sat fanning

himself and wiggling his foot:

"What for you b'long foolish? Thisee belong Mergin Antipolo. She can

do muchy more: others, no can do. No b'long plopper say pidgin b'long

other man."

Captain Tiago held the Chinaman in great estimation and made him pass

for a prophet and doctor. Examining the hand of his deceased wife in

the sixth month of her pregnancy, he had prophesied:

"If thisee one no b'long man, and no go dead side, will b'long bery

good woman."

And so it was that Maria Clara came to this earth and fulfilled the

Chinaman's prophecy.

Captain Tiago, being a prudent and timid person, could not decide the

question of the miracle as easily as the Trojan Paris. He could not

give preference to one of the Virgins for fear of offending some other

of them, a thing which might bring about grave results. "Prudence,"

he said to himself. "Be prudent! Let us not lose all now."

He was in the midst of these doubts when the party in favor of the

Government, or the Governmental party, arrived, viz., Dona Victorina,

Don Tiburcio, and Linares.

Dona Victorina did all the talking for the three men and for herself

also. She mentioned the visits which Linares had made to the Governor

General, and repeatedly brought out the benefits derived from having

a relative of categoria.

For some days past, she had been trying to be Andalusian by suppressing

the d in all words and in changing the s to z. No one could get the

idea out of her head; she would prefer to lose her front curls first.

"Yes," she said, in speaking of Ibarra. "That fellow merits very well

all that he is going to get. I told you so when I saw him for the first

time. I told you he was a filibustero. What did the General tell you,

cousin? What did he say? What news did you give him about Ibarra?"

Seeing that the cousin hesitated in his reply, she went on, directing

her words to Captain Tiago.

"Believe me, if they convict him, as is to be hoped, it will be

through my cousin."

"Senora, Senora!" protested Linares.

But she did not give him any time.

"Oh, what a diplomat you have turned out to be! But we all know that

you are the adviser of the Governor General, that he could not live

without you. Ah! What a pleasure to see you, Clarita."

Maria Clara seemed paler than ever, although she was now quite

recovered from her illness. Sadly smiling, she approached and greeted

Dona Victorina with a formal kiss.

After the customary words had been exchanged, Dona went on with her

false Andalusian.

"We came to visit you. You have been saved by the efforts of your

friends,"-looking significantly at Linares.

"God has protected my father," said the girl, in a low voice.

"Yes, Clarita, but the time for miracles has passed long ago. As

we Spaniards say: 'Have no trust in the Virgin and save yourself

by running.'"

"The-th-the ot-ot-other way," said the doctor, correcting her

proverbial quotation.

Captain Tiago, who had not yet found opportunity to say a word,

ventured to ask her, giving much attention to her reply: "So you,

Dona Victorina, believe that the Virgin...?"

"That is precisely what we came for, to speak to you about the Virgin,"

replied she, indicating Maria Clara. "We have a matter to talk over."

The maiden understood that she ought to retire. She sought an excuse

and went away, supporting herself on the furniture as she walked along.

What was said in the conference which followed was so low and mean

that we prefer to omit it. It is sufficient for us to say that when

they took their leave all were happy, and that Captain Tiago afterward

said to his cousin:

"Isabel, send word to the restaurant that we are going to give a

fiesta to-morrow. You get Maria ready to be married in a short time."

Aunt Isabel looked at him, surprised.

"You will see! When Senor Linares is our son-in-law all the palaces

will be open to us. They will be envying us; they will all die

with envy."

And thus it was that at eight o'clock on the following evening,

Captain Tiago's house was again full of guests, only that this time

the men whom he had invited were either Spaniards or Chinamen, while

the fair sex was represented by Spaniards born in the Peninsula or

in the Philippines.

The larger part of our acquaintances was there: Father Sibyla,

Father Salvi and several other Franciscans and Dominicans, the old

lieutenant of the Civil Guard, Senor Guevara, more melancholy than

ever; the alferez, who related his battle for the thousandth time,

feeling himself head and shoulders above everybody and a veritable

Don Juan de Austria, now a lieutenant with the rank of commander; De

Espadana, who looked at the former with respect and fear and avoided

his glance; and the indignant Dona Victorina. Linares was not yet

present, for, being a very important personage, it was fitting that

he should arrive later than the others.

Maria Clara, the subject of all the gossip, was the center of a

group of women. She had greeted and received them ceremoniously,

but did not throw off her air of sadness.

"Psh!" said one of the girls. "A little stuck-up!"

"A cute little thing," replied another, "but he might have selected

some one of a more intelligent appearance."

"It's the money; he's a good-looking fellow and sells himself for a

good price."

In another part of the room they were talking like this:

"Marry, when her former betrothed is about to be hanged!"

"I call that prudence; to have one on hand as a substitute."

Possibly the young maiden heard these remarks as she sat in a chair

near by, arranging a tray of flowers, for her hand was seen to tremble,

she turned pale and bit her lips a number of times.

The conversation among the men was in a loud tone. Naturally, they

were conversant with the recent happenings. All were talking, even

Don Tiburcio, with the exception of Father Sibyla, who maintained a

disdainful silence.

"I have heard that Your Reverence leaves the town, Father Salvi?" asked

the newly made lieutenant, now made more amiable by the star on

his sleeve.

"I have nothing more to do now in San Diego. I am permanently settled

in Manila now ... and you?"

"I also leave the town," replied the former alferez, straightening

up. "The Government needs me to take command of a flying column to

clear the provinces of filibusteros."

Friar Salvi looked him over from head to foot, and turned his back

to him completely.

"Is it yet known for a certainty what is to become of the leader of

the revolutionists?" asked a Government employee.

"Are you referring to Crisostomo Ibarra?" asked another. "What is most

probable and most just is that he be hanged, as those were in '72."

"He will be exiled," said the old lieutenant, dryly.

"Exiled! Nothing more than exiled! But it will be a perpetual

exile!" exclaimed several at the same time.

"If that young fellow," Lieutenant Guevara went on to say in a loud

voice, "had been more cautious; if he had trusted certain people less

with whom he had correspondence; and if the officers had not made

a subtle interpretation of what was written-if it had not been for

all of this, that young man would surely have gone free."

This statement by the old lieutenant and the tone of his voice produced

a great surprise in the room. Those who heard it did not know what

to say. Father Salvi looked in another direction, perhaps so as not

to meet the dark look which the old man directed toward him. Maria

Clara dropped her flowers and sat motionless. Father Sibyla, the one

who knew how to keep silent, appeared to be the only one who knew

how to ask questions.

"Are you referring to the letters, Senor Guevara?"

"I am telling what the defendant's attorney told me. He has taken up

the case with zeal and interest. Aside from some ambiguous lines which

this young man wrote to a young woman before departing for Europe,

they have found no proof to sustain the accusation. In these few lines,

the officers saw a plan and threat against the Government."

"And what about the declaration made by the bandit before he died?"

"That statement has proved of no account, since, according to the

bandit himself, the conspirators never had communicated with the young

man, but only with one, Lucas, who was Ibarra's enemy, as they have

been able to prove, and who committed suicide, perhaps from remorse. It

has been proved that the papers found in the possession of the dead

man were forged, since the handwriting was like that of Ibarra seven

years ago, but not like that of to-day-a fact which shows that it

was copied from the letter used as evidence against him. Besides,

his attorney says that if Ibarra had not admitted the genuineness of

the letter, he would have been able to do much for him; but, at the

sight of it, the young man turned pale, lost heart and acknowledged

that he had written it."

"Do you say," asked a Franciscan, "that the letter was directed to

a young woman? How did it get into the hands of the officers?"

The lieutenant did not reply. He looked for a moment at Friar Salvi

and then walked off, twisting nervously the end of his grey beard. In

the meantime, others were commenting something like this:

"There you see the hand of God!" said one. "Even the women hate him."

"He had his house burned, thinking that he could thus save himself. But

he did not reckon with his host-that is, with his querida, [23] with

his babai," [23] added another, smiling. "That is God's work. Santiago

protects Spain!"

The old army officer stopped and approached Maria Clara. She was

listening to the conversation, immovable in her seat. The flowers

were at her feet.

"You are a very prudent young woman," said the old lieutenant to her

in a low voice. "You have done well to hand over the letter... In

this way you will assure yourself of a peaceful future."

With dull eyes, and biting her lips, she looked at him as he walked

away. Luckily, Aunt Isabel passed her at this moment. Maria Clara

summoned enough strength to catch hold of her aunt's dress.

"Aunt," she murmured.

"What is the matter with you?" asked the latter, frightened, as she

saw the young woman's face.

"Take me to my room!" she begged, clinging to the arm of the old

woman in order to raise herself to her feet.

"Are you sick, my child? You seem to have lost all your strength. What

is the matter with you?"

"A little sick to my stomach ... the crowd in the sala ... so much

light ... I need to rest. Tell father that I am going to sleep."

"You are cold! Do you want some tea?"

Maria Clara shook her head negatively. She closed the door of her room

and locked it, and, her strength failing her, she fell to the floor,

at the feet of an image, weeping and sobbing:

"Mother, mother, my mother!"

The moonlight was shining through the open window and door which led

out upon the azotea.

The orchestra continued playing gay waltzes. The laughter and the hum

of conversation could be heard in her bedroom. A number of times her

family, Aunt Isabel, Dona Victorina, and even Linares, knocked at her

door, but Maria Clara did not move. There was a rattle in her throat.

Hours passed. The pleasures of the table ended, and dancing

followed. Her little candle burned out, but the maiden lay quietly

on the floor, the rays of moonlight shining upon her at the foot of

an image of the Mother of Jesus.

Gradually the noises in the house died away, the lights were put out,

and Aunt Isabel again knocked at the door of her room.

"Let us leave her; she is sleeping," said her aunt. "At her age,

with nothing to trouble her, she sleeps like a corpse."

When all was again silent, Maria arose slowly and glanced around

her. She saw the azotea and the small climbing plants bathed in the

melancholy light of the moon.

"A peaceful future! Sleeping like a corpse!" she murmured in a low

voice, and turned toward the azotea.

The city was quiet. Only the noise of an occasional carriage passing

over the wooden bridge could be heard in the stillness of the night,

while the tranquil waters of the river were reflecting the moonlight.

The maiden raised her eyes to the pure, sapphire-colored sky. Slowly

she took off her rings, her hair-combs, her earrings, and her

breast-pin, and placing them upon the balustrade of the azotea she

looked out toward the river.

A banca, loaded with rice grass, stopped at the foot of the landing on

the bank of the river at the rear of the house. One of the two men who

were propelling the boat went up the stone steps, leaped over the wall,

and a few seconds afterward, steps were heard coming up the azotea.

Maria Clara saw him stop on discovering her, but it was for only a

moment. The man advanced slowly and at about three steps from the

maiden, stopped again. Maria Clara stepped back.

"Crisostomo!" she gasped, full of terror.

"Yes, I am Crisostomo!" replied the young man, in a grave voice. "An

enemy, a man who has good reason to hate me, Elias, has helped me

out of the prison into which my friends had thrown me."

Silence followed these words. Maria Clara bowed her head and allowed

both her hands to drop at her side.

Ibarra continued:

"Beside the dead body of my mother, I swore to make you happy,

whatever might be my destiny. You can break your oath; she was not

your mother. But I, who am her son, I hold her memory sacred, and,

running great risk, I have come here to fulfill my oath. Fortune

permits me to speak with you personally. Maria, we shall not see each

other again. You are young and perhaps some day your conscience may

accuse you... I come to tell you, before leaving, that I forgive

you. Now, may you be happy, and good-bye!"

Ibarra tried to leave, but the maiden stopped him.

"Crisostomo!" she said. "God has sent you to save me from

desperation... Hear me and judge me!"

Ibarra wished to withdraw gently from her.

"I have not come," said he, "to call you to account... I have come

to give you peace."

"I do not want the peace which you give me. I will give myself

peace. You despise me, and your contempt will make my life bitter

till death."

Ibarra saw the poor girl's desperation, and asked her what she desired.

"That you may believe that I have always loved you."

Crisostomo smiled bitterly.

"Ah! You doubt me, you doubt the friend of your infancy, who has

never hidden a single thought from you," exclaimed she in grief. "I

understand you. When you know my history, the history which they

revealed to me during my illness, you will pity me and you will no

longer answer my grief with that bitter smile. Why did you not let

me die in the hands of my ignorant doctor? You and I would have been

happier then."

Maria Clara rested a moment and then continued:

"You have doubted me; you have wished my mother to pardon me. During

one of those nights of suffering, a man revealed to me the name of

my true father, and forbade me to love you ... unless my true father

should pardon you for the offense you committed against him."

Ibarra recoiled and looked in terror at the maiden.

"Yes," she continued. "This man told me that he could not permit our

marriage, since his conscience would not allow it, and he would find

himself compelled to publish the truth at the risk of causing a great

scandal, because my father is ..."

And she whispered a name in the young man's ear in a scarcely audible

voice.

"What was I to do? Ought I to sacrifice to my love the memory of

my mother, the honor of the man who innocently supposes himself my

father, and the good name of my real father? Could I do that without

you despising me for it?"

"But the proof? Have you proof? You need proof!" exclaimed Crisostomo,

deeply agitated.

The maiden drew two letters from her bosom.

"Two of my mother's letters: two letters written in remorse before

I was born. Take them, read them and you will see how she cursed

me and desired my death, which my father in vain tried to cause by

drugs. These letters were forgotten in the house where he lived;

a man found them and kept them. They would only give them to me in

exchange for your letter ... to make certain, as they said, that I

would not marry you without the consent of my father. From the time

that I began to carry them in my bosom instead of your letter, my

heart was chilled. I sacrificed you, I sacrificed my love... What

would not a person do for a dead mother and two living fathers? Did

I suspect the use to which they were going to put your letter?"

Ibarra was prostrated. Maria Clara went on:

"What was there left for me? Could I tell you who was my father? Could

I ask you to seek the pardon of him who had so much desired my death,

and who made your father suffer? There was nothing left for me but to

keep the secret to myself, and to die suffering... Now, my friend,

you know the sad history of your poor Maria. Will you still have that

contemptuous smile for her?"

"Maria, you are a saint."

"I am happy now that you believe me."

"However," added the young man, changing his tone. "I have heard that

you are about to marry."

"Yes," sobbed the maiden. "My father asked this sacrifice of me. He

has fed me and loved me, and it was not his duty. I pay him this debt

of gratitude which I owe him by assuring him peace through this new

relative, but ..."

"But?"

"I shall not forget the oaths of fidelity which I made to you."

"What do you think of doing?" asked Ibarra, trying to read her eyes.

"The future is obscure and Destiny is hidden in darkness. I do not

know what I am to do; but I know that I can love only once, and that

without love I never will belong to any one. And you, what is to

become of you?"

"I am nothing but a fugitive... I am fleeing. In a very short time,

they will discover my escape, Maria..."

Maria Clara clasped her arms about her lover's neck, kissed his lips

repeatedly, hugged him, and then, abruptly breaking away from him,

said:

"Flee! flee! Adios!"

Ibarra looked at her, his eyes sparkling, but she motioned and he

went away, staggering like a drunken man. Again he leaped over the

wall and entered the banca. Maria Clara, leaning on the door casing,

watched him depart.

Elias took off his hat and bowed profoundly.


	41. 40

CHAPTER XL

THE PURSUIT ON THE LAKE.

"Listen, Senor, to my plan," said Elias, as they directed the banca

toward San Miguel. "I will for the present hide you in the house of

my friend in Mandaluyong. I will bring you all your money, which I

have saved and kept for you at the foot of the old baliti tree, in

the mysterious tomb of your grandfather. You shall leave the country."

"To go to a strange land?" interrupted Ibarra.

"To live in peace the remaining days of your life. You have friends

in Spain, you are rich, you can get yourself pardoned. By all means,

a foreign land is better for you than your own country."

Crisostomo did not reply. He meditated in silence.

Just then they reached the Pasig and the banca was headed up the

stream. Over the Bridge of Spain a horse-man was galloping at high

speed, and a prolonged, sharp whistle was heard.

"Elias," replied Ibarra, "you owe your misfortunes to my family;

you have saved my life twice; I owe you not only gratitude, but also

restitution of your fortune. You advise me to go to a foreign land

and live; then come with me and we will live like brothers. Here,

you, too, are miserable."

Elias sadly replied:

"Impossible! It is true that I can neither love nor be happy in

my country; but I can suffer and die in it, and perhaps die for

it; that would be something. Let my country's misfortune be my own

misfortune. Since no noble thought unites us, and since our hearts do

not beat in harmony at the mention of a single word, at least, let a

common misery unite me to my fellow countrymen; at least, let me weep

with them over our grief; let the same misery oppress all our hearts."

"Then why do you advise me to leave?"

"Because in other lands you can be happy, and I cannot; because you

are not made to suffer, and because you would hate your country,

if some day you should see the cause of your misfortune: and to hate

one's own country is the greatest misery."

"You are unjust to me," exclaimed Ibarra, with bitter reproach. "You

forget that I have scarcely arrived here, and that I have already

sought its welfare."

"Do not be offended, Senor. I am not reproaching you. Would to God

that all might imitate you. But I do not ask for the impossible and

you should not be offended if I tell you that your heart deceives

you. You love your country because your father has taught you to

love it; you love it because you had in it your love, your fortune,

your youth; because it smiled on you, and because it has not until now

done you an injustice. You love your country as we all love that which

makes us happy. But, on that day when you see yourself poor, ragged,

hungry, persecuted, denounced and betrayed by your very countrymen,

on that day you will curse yourself, your country and all."

"Your words grieve me," said Ibarra, resentfully.

Elias bowed his head, meditated and replied:

"I wish to set you right, Senor, and to avoid a miserable future for

you. You remember the time when I was talking to you in this same

banca and under the light of the same moon. It was a month ago, a few

days more or less. Then you were happy. The plea of the unfortunates

did not reach you. You disdained their complaints because they were

complaints from criminals. You gave ear to their enemies, and, in

spite of my reasons and pleas, you put yourself on the side of their

oppressors. On you depended at that time whether I should turn criminal

or allow my life to be taken in fulfillment of my sacred pledge. God

has not permitted it, because the old chief of the bandits has been

killed. A month has passed and now you think differently."

"You are right, Elias, but man is influenced by changes in

circumstances. Then I was blind, and obstinate. What did I know? Now

misfortune has torn the veil from my eyes. The solitude and misery of

my prison life have taught me; now I see the horrible cancer which

is sapping the life of society, which hangs to its flesh and which

requires violent extirpation. They have opened my eyes; they have

made me see the ulcer; they force me to become a criminal. I will

be a filibustero, but a true filibustero. I will call upon all the

unfortunates, on all who have beating hearts within their breasts, on

all who sent you to me... No, no! I will not be criminal! It is never

a crime to fight for one's country! We for three centuries have given

them our hand, we have asked them for their love, we have anxiously

wished to call them our brothers. How have they replied? With insults

and jests, denying us even the quality of being human beings. There

is no God, there is no hope, there is no humanity. There is nothing

but the right of force."

Ibarra was excited. His whole body was trembling.

They passed by the Governor General's palace, and believed they saw

agitation and movement among the guards.

"Have they discovered our flight?" murmured Elias. "Lie down, Senor,

so that I can cover you up with the grass, for, when we cross over

to the side of the river near the powder house, the sentry may be

surprised at seeing two of us in this small banca."

As Elias had foreseen, the sentry stopped him and asked him where he

came from.

"From Manila, with grass for the magistrates and curates," replied he,

imitating the accent of one from Pandakan.

A sergeant came out and was informed what was going on.

"Sulung!" (Go on!) said he. "I warn you not to receive any one in

your banca. A prisoner has just escaped. If you capture him and hand

him over to me I will give you a good reward."

"All right, Senor. What is his description?"

"He wears a frock coat and speaks Spanish. With that much, be on

the watch!"

The banca went on. Elias turned his face and saw the shadow of the

sentry, still standing on the bank of the river.

"We will lose several minutes," said he, in a low voice. "We will

have to go up the Beata river in order to carry out my pretense of

being from Pena Francia."

The town was sleeping in the light of the moon. Crisostomo arose to

admire the sepulchral peace of Nature. The river was narrow and its

banks formed a plain planted with rice.

Elias threw the load on the bank, picked up a piece of bamboo and

drew out from under the grass in the banca some empty sacks. They

went on rowing.

"You are master of your own will, Senor, and of your own future,"

said he to Crisostomo, who kept silent. "But if you will permit

me to offer a suggestion, I say to you: Look well at what you are

going to do. You are about to start a war, for you have money,

talent, and you will quickly find aid, for, unfortunately, many

are discontented. Furthermore, in this fight, which you are to

begin, those who are going to suffer most are the defenseless, the

innocent. The same sentiments which a month ago prompted me to come

to you and ask for reforms, are those which now move me to ask you to

reflect. The country, Senor, is not thinking of separating itself from

the mother country. It asks only a little liberty, a little justice,

a little love. The discontented will assist you, the criminals and the

desperate, but the people will hold aloof. You are mistaken if, seeing

everything dark, you believe that the country is desperate. The country

suffers, yes, but it still hopes, believe me, and will only rise in

revolt when it has lost patience; that is, when those who govern wish

it-which is still far off. I myself would not follow you. I shall

never take recourse to these extreme remedies while I see hope in men."

"Then I will go without you!" replied Crisostomo, resolutely.

"Is it your firm decision?"

"Yes, my firm and only decision: I call to witness the memory of my

father! I cannot allow them to deprive me of peace and happiness with

impunity, I who have desired only my country's welfare, I who have

respected all and have suffered on account of a hypocritical religion,

on account of love for my country. How have they responded to me? By

burying me in an infamous prison and by prostituting my fiancee. No,

not to avenge myself would be a crime. It would be encouraging

them to commit new injustices. No! it would be cowardice, it would

be pusillanimity to weep and groan while there is life and vigor,

when to insult and challenge are added scoffery and contemptuous

ridicule! I will arouse this ignorant people, I will make them see

their misery-this people who do not think of each other as brothers,

who are mere wolves devouring each other. I will tell them to rise

against this oppression and appeal to the eternal right of mankind

to conquer their liberty!"

"Innocent people will suffer."

"All the better! Can you lead me to the mountain?"

"Till you are safe!" replied Elias.

They again went up the Pasig. They spoke from time to time of

indifferent things.

"Santa Ana!" murmured Ibarra. "Do you recognize that house?"

They passed by the country house of the Jesuits.

"There I passed many happy and joyful years!" sighed Elias. "In my time

we used to come here every month ... then I was like the others. I had

fortune, family; I was dreaming and planning a future for myself. In

those days I used to visit my sister in the neighboring convent. She

made me a present of a piece of her own handiwork. A girl friend used

to accompany her, a beautiful girl. All has passed like a dream."

They remained silent till they arrived at Malapad-na-bato. Those who

have glided over the bosom of the Pasig on one of those magical nights

when the moon pours forth its melancholy poetry from the pure blue of

the sky, when the darkness hides the misery of men and silence drowns

the harsh accents of their voices, when Nature alone speaks-those

who have seen such nights on the Pasig will understand the feelings

which filled the hearts of both young men.

In Malapad-na-bato the carbineer was half asleep, and, seeing that the

banca was empty and offered no booty for him to seize, according to

the traditional custom of his corps and the use made of that position,

he readily let them pass on.

Nor did the Civil Guard at Pasig suspect anything, and they were

not molested.

It was just beginning to dawn when they reached the lake, calm and

smooth as a gigantic mirror. The moon was growing dim and the Orient

was rosy with the tints of morning. At a distance, a mass of grey

could be discerned advancing toward the banca.

"The falua (or Government steamboat) is coming," murmured Elias. "Lie

down and I will cover you with these sacks."

The outline of the vessel became more clear and perceptible.

"She is putting in between the beach and us," observed Elias uneasily.

And then he changed the course of the banca a little, rowing toward

Binangonan. To his great surprise he noticed that the falua was also

changing its course, while a voice cried out to him.

Elias stopped and meditated. The shore of the lake was very far off,

and they would soon be in the range of the rifles on the falua. He

thought of returning to the Pasig. His banca was swifter than the

falua. But fate was against him! Another boat was coming up the

Pasig, and they could see the helmets and shining bayonets of the

Civil Guards.

"We are caught!" he murmured, turning pale.

He looked at his robust arms and taking the only course which remained

to him, he began to row with all his strength toward the Island of

Talim. In the meantime, the sun had risen.

The banca glided along rapidly. Elias saw some men standing up on

the falua, making signals to him.

"Do you know how to manage a banca?" he asked Ibarra.

"Yes; why?"

"Because we are lost if I do not leap into the water and make them

lose the trail. They will follow me. I swim and dive well... I will

take them away from you, and then you can save yourself."

"No; you remain and we will sell our lives dearly."

"Useless! We have no arms, and with those rifles they will kill us

like birds."

At that moment a chiss was heard in the water like the fall of a hot

body, and was followed immediately by a report.

"Do you see?" said Elias, putting his paddle in the banca. "We will

see each other again at the tomb of your grandfather on Nochebeuna

(Christmas eve.) Save yourself."

"And you?"

"God has taken me through greater dangers."

Elias took off his camisa. A ball grazed his hands and the report

sounded out. Without being disturbed, he stretched out his hand to

Ibarra, who was still in the bottom of the boat. Then he arose and

leaped into the water, pushing away the small craft with his foot.

A number of cries were heard. Soon at some distance the head of the

young man appeared above the water as if to get breath, dropping out

of sight at the next instant.

"There, there he is!" cried a number of voices, and the balls from

their rifles whistled again.

The falua and the other banca took up the chase. A light track of foam

marked his course, every moment leading farther and farther away from

Ibarra's banca, which drifted along as if abandoned. Every time that

the swimmer raised his head to breathe the Civil Guards and the men

on board the falua discharged their guns at him.

The pursuit continued. Ibarra's little banca was already far off. The

swimmer was approaching the shore of the lake and was now some fifty

yards distant from it. The rowers were already tired, but Elias was

not, for his head often appeared above the water and each time in a

different direction so as to disconcert his pursuers. No longer was

there a light trail to betray the course of the diver. For the last

time they saw him near the shore, some ten yards off, and they opened

fire... Then minutes and minutes passed. Nothing appeared again on

the tranquil surface of the lake.

Half an hour afterward one of the rowers pretended to have discovered

signs of blood in the water near the shore, but his companions shook

their heads in a manner which might mean either yes or no.


	42. 41

CHAPTER XLI

FATHER DAMASO EXPLAINS.

In vain the costly wedding gifts were heaped upon the table. Neither

the diamonds in their blue velvet caskets, nor the embroidered pina,

nor the pieces of silk had any attractions for Maria Clara. The

maiden looked at the paper which gave the account of Ibarra's death,

drowned in the lake, but she neither saw nor read it.

Of a sudden, she felt two hands over her eyes. They held her fast

while a joyous voice, Father Damaso's, said to her:

"Who am I? Who am I?"

Maria Clara jumped from her seat and looked at him with terror in

her eyes.

"You little goose, were you frightened, eh? You were not expecting

me? Well, I have come from the provinces to attend your wedding."

And coming up to her again with a smile of satisfaction, he stretched

out his hand to her. Maria Clara approached timidly and, raising it

to her lips, kissed it.

"What is the matter with you, Maria?" asked the Franciscan, losing

his gay smile, and becoming very uneasy. "Your hand is cold, you are

pale... Are you ill, my little girl?"

And Father Damaso drew her up to him with a fondness of which no one

would have thought him capable. He grasped both the maiden's hands

and gave her a questioning look.

"Haven't you any confidence in your godfather?" he asked in a

reproachful tone. "Come, sit down here and tell me your little

troubles, just as you used to do when you were a child, when you

wanted wax-candles to make wax figures. You surely know that I have

always loved you... I have never scolded you..."

Father Damaso's voice ceased to be brusque; its modulations were even

caressing. Maria Clara began to weep.

"Are you weeping, my child? Why are you weeping? Have you quarrelled

with Linares?"

Maria Clara covered her eyes with her hands.

"No! It is not he now!" cried the maiden.

Father Damaso looked at her full of surprise.

"Do you not want to entrust your secrets to me? Have I not always

managed to satisfy your smallest caprices?"

The young woman raised her eyes full of tears toward him. She looked

at him for some time, and then began to weep bitterly.

"Do not cry so, my child, for your tears pain me! Tell me your

troubles. You will see how your godfather loves you."

Maria Clara approached him slowly and fell on her knees at his

feet. Then raising her face, bathed in tears, she said to him in a

low voice, scarcely audible:

"Do you still love me?"

"Child!"

"Then ... protect my father, and break off the marriage!"

Then she related her last interview with Ibarra, omitting the reference

to her birth.

Father Damaso could scarcely believe what he heard.

"While he lived," continued the maiden, "I intended to fight, to wait,

to trust. I wanted to live to hear him spoken of ... but now that they

have killed him, now there is no reason for my living and suffering."

She said this slowly, in a low voice, calmly and without a tear.

"But, you goose; isn't Linares a thousand times better than...?"

"When he was living, I could have married ... I was thinking of fleeing

afterward ... my father wanted nothing more than the relative. Now that

he is dead, no other man will call me his wife... While he lived,

I could have debased myself and still had the consolation of knowing

that he existed and perhaps was thinking of me. Now that he is dead

... the convent or the tomb."

Her voice had a firmness in its accent which took away Father Damaso's

joy and set him to thinking.

"Did you love him so much as that?" he asked, stammering.

Maria Clara did not reply. Father Damaso bowed his head upon his

breast and remained silent.

"My child!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking. "Forgive me for making

you unhappy without knowing it. I was thinking of your future; I

wanted you to be happy. How could I permit you to marry a native;

how could I see you an unhappy wife and a miserable mother? I could

not get your love out of your head, and I opposed it with all my

strength. All that I have done has been for you, for you alone. If

you had become his wife, you would have wept afterward on account

of the condition of your husband, exposed to all kinds of vengeance,

without any means of defense. As a mother, you would have wept over

the fortune of your sons; if you educated them, you would prepare a

sad future for them, you would have made them enemies of the Church

and would have seen them hanged or exiled; if you left them ignorant,

you would have seen them oppressed and degraded. I could not consent

to it! This is why I sought as a husband for you one who might

make you the happy mother of sons born not to obey but to command,

not to suffer but to punish. I knew that your friend was good from

infancy. I liked him as I had liked his father, but I hated them both

when I saw that they were going to make you unhappy, because I love

you, I idolize you, I love you as my daughter. I have nothing dearer

than you. I have seen you grow. No hour passes but I think of you;

I dream of you; you are my only joy."

And Father Damaso began to weep like a child.

"Well, then, if you love me do not make me eternally unhappy. He no

longer lives; I want to be a nun."

The old man rested his head on his hand.

"To be a nun, to be a nun!" he repeated. "You do not know, my child,

the life, the misery, which is hidden behind the walls of the

convent. You do not know it! I prefer a thousand times to see you

unhappy in the world than to see you unhappy in the cloister. Here

your complaints can be heard, there you will have only the walls. You

are beautiful, very beautiful, and you were not born for it, you were

not born to be the bride of Christ! Believe me, my child, time will

blot it all out. Later you will forget, you will love your husband

... Linares."

"Either the convent or ... death!" repeated Maria Clara.

"The convent, the convent or death!" exclaimed Father Damaso. "Maria,

I am already old, I will not be able to watch you or your happiness

much longer... Choose another course, seek another love, another

young man, whoever he may be, but not the convent."

"The convent or death!"

"My God, my God!" cried the priest, covering his head with his

hands. "Thou punisheth me. So be it! But watch over my child."

And turning to the young woman: "You want to be a nun? You shall be

one. I do not want you to die."

Maria Clara took his two hands, clasped them in her own and kissed

them as she knelt.

"Godfather, my godfather!" she repeated.

Immediately, Father Damaso went out, sad, with drooping head and

sighing.

"God, O God! Thou existeth, for Thou punisheth. But avenge Thyself

on me and do not harm the innocent. Save my child!"


	43. Notes and Copyright

NOTES

[1] Street in Manila.

[2] Archbishop and author of theological works.

[3] Roof of the first story used as a veranda.

[4] Petty governor, the highest local official.

[5] Trellis work made of reeds.

[6] Local commander of the Civil Guard.

[7] A narrow canoe.

[8] A drink made of honey and ginger.

[9] A light, early breakfast.

[10] A native fruit.

[11] A Chinese gambling game.

[12] A little white, pearl-like substance sometimes found in the

cacao tree, which is supposed to be a lucky omen.

[13] Little mestizos or half breeds. Used in contempt.

[14] A reply which accords with the Spanish idea of politeness but

rather ludicrously used in this instance.

[15] A popular Spanish song handed down from the time of Riego's

uprising in Spain.

[16] Volunteer police.

[17] A wrong pronunciation of the Spanish Peninsula meaning Spain.

[18] A costly and rich wood like ebony.

[19] Certificate of identification required of all Filipinos under

Spanish domination.

[20] Warning cry of a coachman, meaning "turn."

[21] Author here shows difficulty in establishing American sovereignty

over islands by military forces.

[22] A plant (Desmodium caresceus), the dry seeds of which cling to

the clothing.

[23] Both words mean mistress.

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